Adaptive satellite communications

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for improving adaptive satellite communication. In some implementations, a method includes receiving, by a receiver and from a transmitter, code blocks transmitted according to a first set of parameters that comprises one or more of a first modulation used to transmit the code blocks or a first coding used to encode the code blocks for transmission. A number of corrupted code blocks and a number of parity blocks in a series of the code blocks received are determined. The number of corrupted code blocks are compared with the number of parity blocks. A second set of parameters are determined based on the comparison of the number of corrupted code blocks with the number of parity blocks. The second set of parameters are communicated to the transmitter for subsequent transmissions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This present specification relates to improving and adapting satellitecommunications despite periodic blockages.

BACKGROUND

Communications between a transmitter and a receiver can be subjected torecurring or sporadic blockages. For example, a spinning rotor canperiodically block communications between a satellite terminal of ahelicopter and a satellite. The communications that are blocked by therotor may be corrupted or partially corrupted, requiring either errorcorrection or retransmission, which can take time and requireunnecessary use of bandwidth or processing power.

SUMMARY

In some implementations, a communication system can enhancecommunications over a communication link when a periodic blockage existsin that communication link. The communication system can be a satellitecommunication system. The communication system can analyzecharacteristics of the periodic blockage to determine a frame structurethat includes an appropriate number and arrangement of blocks of paritydata interleaved in the transmission, in order to be able to recoverdata from blockages. In addition, the system can adaptively change themodulation and/or coding used over time to improve communications overthe communication link, e.g., to improve throughput, error correctioncapabilities, bandwidth utilization, or other communication properties.In particular, the system enables a receiving terminal to detect whenreception has the capability to handle a greater number of errors orerasures due to the periodic blockage. When the condition is detectedand persists for a sufficient amount of frames or amount of time, theterminal can request to change communication parameters to improvethroughput, thus causing the system to operate closer to the highestdata throughput that that the channel supports.

In some implementations, the communication system can improve throughputof communications over the communication link with a helicopter. Aground station or gateway may communicate with the helicopter through asatellite in the satellite communication system. During flight, thehelicopter can transmit to the ground station and receive communicationsfrom the ground station through the satellite. However, as the rotor ofthe helicopter rotates, the blades of the rotor pass through the line ofcommunication with the satellite, causing periodic blockages orinterruptions of the communication link. Typically, the rotor rotates atconsistent speed, and as a result the disruption to the communicationlink occurs with a substantially consistent frequency. Nevertheless, thecharacteristics of the periodic blockage can change based on variousfactors associated with the helicopter, e.g., speed, angle of tilt,rotating speed of the helicopter blade, and direction of travel, to namea few examples, and factors associated with the satellite, e.g.,position of the satellite, velocity of the satellite, and position ofthe satellite with respect to the ground station and the movinghelicopter.

The communication system can use various protocols to carry out thecommunications over the communication link between the ground stationand the helicopter despite of the periodic blockage. For example, anupper-layer protocol, such as Upper Layer Protocol Enhancement (ULPE),can aid in the protection of helicopter periodic blockages.

Satellite systems are typically designed with a link margin, which is adifference between the minimum expected power received at the receiver'send, and the receiver's sensitivity, e.g., the received power at whichthe receiver stops working. The link margin is often measured in termsof signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) or signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio(SINR), which are often expressed in units of decibels (dB). While it isprudent to maintain a link margin for reliability, the higheffectiveness of forward error correction coding such as low-densityparity check (LDPC) coding, and other techniques in recovering errorscan allow reliable operation with lower link margins. For example, thesystem may be configured to operate with a relatively low link margin toboost throughput. The communication system can set target parametersthat provide or represent a low link margin, and then exploit any excesslink margin to increase throughput in the presence of the periodicblockage from the helicopter blades, to improve communications betweenthe ground station and the helicopter.

In managing the communication parameters used, the system can makeadjustments based on the number of corrupted blocks that occur over adesignated time period, e.g., the duration of one series of code blocks.In this manner, the number of corrupted code blocks can serve as anindicator of the status and capability for reception in the currentconditions rather than making adjustments based on other factors such aslink margin. The system then adjusts communication parameters, such asmodulation and coding, to achieve reception for which a target number ofcode blocks are corrupted not fully received. The target number can be apositive integer (e.g., greater than zero), signifying that corruptionof one or more code blocks is expected and that the system even managesthe communication to increase the number of corrupted code blocks up tothe target. While the number of corrupted code blocks per series is lessthan the target number, the system can progressively use increasinglyaggressive communication parameters (e.g., providing higher throughputwith higher code rate, more information-dense modulations, etc.), untilthe periodic blockage causes the target to be reached.

In some implementations, the target number of corrupted code blocks perseries is a number that is equal to or slightly less than the number ofcode blocks for which the ULPE arrangement enables the receiver torecover. In this manner, the technique manages the communicationparameters to maximize the throughput to a point that the error checkingand correction can recover. This can take the error checking andcorrection functionality into account when setting the parameters, andnot setting parameters simply to achieve a link margin or other channelmeasure that does not reflect the robustness gained through the codingscheme. As a result, the system can better achieve the full potentialthroughput that is available using the error correction tools in thesystem.

Transmissions in the system can be structured as a series of codeblocks. Each series has a defined length, e.g., a predetermined numberof code blocks, that represents a single burst size or transmissionframe. The series of code blocks can be defined so that the transmissionduration for each series of code blocks (e.g., each frame, or at leasteach column within a frame) is the same duration or shorter than theperiod of the periodic blockage. For example, each series of code blockscan form a transmission frame or transmission group with a consistent,predetermined number of equally-sized code blocks from one series to thenext. The ULPE structure can arrange series of code blocks in rows andcolumns, with a code block of error checking and correction data in eachcolumn. This enables the receiver to recover the data for oneinterruption in the column, as long as the duration of interruption isno longer than the duration of transmission of one code block worth ofdata. For example, if the ULPE structure defines a series to include 12equal-sized code blocks, arranged in three columns and four rows, thereceiver can use the ULPE data to recover data of three partiallycorrupted code blocks per 12-code-block series (e.g., correcting onecode block per column). The system may also be able to recover one codeblock worth of data per column as long as the corruption occurs in acontinuous segment of the transmission. In other words, the arrangementcan allow recovery of data for a blockage that spans the boundarybetween adjacent code blocks (e.g., in a situation where, within a row,corruption occurs at an end portion of the first code block andcontinues into the beginning portion of the second code block). Tofacilitate error correction and recovery, the ULPE structure and codeblock size can be set so that (1) the duration for transmission of acode block is greater than the duration of each instance of the periodicblockage, and (2) the duration for transmission of a column of codeblocks is less than the blockage duration.

The system can set a target number of corrupted code blocks per series,such as a target of two corrupted code blocks per ULPE structured seriesof code blocks for reception. This target sets the desired tradeoffbetween throughput and reliability, and sets a desired operating pointto maintain in the system. In some implementations, the target number ofcorrupted code blocks per series is a number that is equal to orslightly less than the number of code blocks for which the ULPEarrangement enables the receiver to recover.

In some implementations, the corrupted code blocks that are countedtoward the target are those that cannot individually be corrected bytheir own parity data and error correction coding. For example, anLDPC-coded code block that has errors but which can be corrected usingthe information received for the code block, would not be consideredcorrupted. These corrupted code blocks may nevertheless be correctableusing the data series as a whole (e.g., using the received data of othercode blocks in the column of the ULPE structure).

In short, the communication system can adjust a modulation scheme or acoding scheme for subsequent communications between the helicopter andthe ground station, and can achieve a higher throughput by managing thenumber of corrupted blocks received per series of code blocks than wouldbe achieved by maintaining a fixed link margin. The communication systemcan monitor effects of the periodic blockage across multiple codeblocks, and from the monitoring, determine when the system shouldincrease or decrease throughput in the system. When less than a targetor reference number of code blocks per series are corrupted due to theperiodic blockage, the communication system can increase throughput byusing a higher code rate or a higher-order modulation. When more thanthe target or reference number of code blocks per series are corrupteddue to the periodic blockage, the communication system can reducethroughput with a more conservative coding or the modulation thatadjusts throughput to the level supported by channel conditions and thecapabilities of the error checking and correction mechanisms.

To further improve the transmission characteristics of the system,transmissions can be made with Gray code signal constellations. Forexample, for an 8-PSK modulation, each symbol represents three bits ofinformation. The constellation can be arranged with a Gray code so thatadjacent symbols in the constellation differ by only one bit. Inaddition, each symbol can share a bit with the two other symbols nearestto it, making the likelihood of that bit being in error much lesslikely. This assists the receiver to better predict which bit of areceived symbol is in error and so should be corrected. As an example, amodulation may constellation in which a series of symbols are assignedbit values of “101,” “110,” and “111,” respectively. If the symbol for110 is received and an error is detected (e.g., from a parity check),the fact that the Gray code is used enables the receiver to infer that(1) the error is most likely isolated to a single bit, and (2) the errormost likely does not occur in the bits that are common among the nearestsymbols (e.g., the initial “1” that is shared between the receivedsymbol as well as the previous and subsequent symbols in theconstellation). Thus, the properties of the Gray code enable thereceiver to enhance error correction capability by better localizingwhich bit or bits in a received symbol may need to be corrected.

In one general aspect, a method includes: receiving, by a receiver andfrom a transmitter, code blocks transmitted on a communication channelaccording to a first set of communication parameters that comprises oneor more of a first modulation used to transmit the code blocks or afirst coding used to encode information in the code blocks fortransmission; determining a number of corrupted code blocks in a seriesof the code blocks received by the receiver; determining a number ofparity blocks in the series of code blocks; comparing the number ofcorrupted code blocks in the series of code blocks with the number ofparity blocks in the series of code blocks; determining a second set ofcommunication parameters for communication between the transmitter andthe receiver based on the comparison of the number of corrupted codeblocks in the series of code blocks with the number of parity blocks inthe series of code blocks; and communicating the second set ofcommunication parameters to the transmitter for subsequent transmissionsby the transmitter to the receiver.

In some implementations, the code blocks are encoded usinglow-density-parity-check (LPDC) coding; and wherein the second set ofcommunication parameters includes a second modulation that is differentfrom the first modulation, wherein the first modulation and the secondmodulation are each one of QPSK, 8-PSK, 8+8 APSK, or 8+8+16 APSK.

In some implementations, the method includes determining, based on thedetermined number of corrupted code blocks, characteristics of aperiodic blockage of the communication channel between the transmitterand the receiver, the characteristics comprising (i) a blockage durationindicative of a duration of the blockage and (ii) a blockage intervalindicative of a period of time between the starting times of twosuccessive blockage events.

In some implementations, the transmitter is a transmitter of asatellite, and wherein the receiver is mounted on a helicopter that isin flight, and the receiver is oriented to communicate with thetransmitter along a path such that the periodic blockage is caused byrotation of rotor of the helicopter periodically blocking the pathbetween the receiver and the transmitter.

In some implementations, determining the second set of communicationparameters comprises: determining, based on the comparison, that thenumber of corrupted code blocks is less than the number of parityblocks; and in response to determining that the number of corrupted codeblocks is less than the number of parity blocks, determining the secondset of communication parameters to include a second coding that providesa higher code rate than the first coding.

In some implementations, determining the second set of communicationparameters comprises: determining, based on the comparison, that thenumber of corrupted code blocks is less than the number of parityblocks; determining that a set of codings available for communicationbetween the transmitter and receiver does not include a coding with acode rate greater than a code rate of the first coding of the firstcommunication parameters; and in response to determining (i) that thenumber of corrupted code blocks is less than the number of parity blocksand (ii) that the set of codings available for communication between thetransmitter and receiver does not include a coding with a code rategreater than a code rate of the first coding of the first communicationparameters, selecting the second set of communication parameters toinclude a second modulation that provides higher throughput than thefirst modulation.

In some implementations, determining the second set of communicationparameters for communication between the transmitter and the receiverfurther comprises: determining a channel quality measure that indicatesa condition of the communication channel; and selecting the second setof communication parameters based on the determined channel qualitymeasure, wherein the receiver stores data that identifies differentcommunication parameters and different values or ranges of channelquality measures that correspond to the different communicationparameters, and wherein at least one communication parameter in thesecond set of communication parameters is selected based on determiningthat the determined channel quality measure corresponds to the value orrange of channel quality measures that the stored data indicates ascorresponding to the at least one communication parameter.

In another general aspect, a communication device can use a modulationscheme that involves symbols arranged in multiple rings of constellationpoints, wherein each of the rings corresponds to a different level ofsignal amplitude. The constellation points on each ring are spaced apartto correspond to different phase positions. For at least some of therings, the symbols around the ring are assigned to constellation pointssuch that a first multi-bit portion of the symbols changes with changesin phase according to a Gray code sequence. The symbols around the ringare also assigned to the constellation points such that a secondmulti-bit portion of the symbols changes with amplitude according to aGray code sequence.

In some implementations, the communication device includes a transmitterconfigured to modulate data for transmission using the modulationscheme.

In some implementations, the communication device includes a receiverconfigured to demodulate data transmitted using the modulation scheme.

In some implementations, the modulation scheme uses three or more ringsof constellation points.

In some implementations, the modulation scheme uses rings ofconstellation points having different amounts of constellation points.

In some implementations, the modulation scheme is an 8+8+16-APSKmodulation scheme.

In some implementations, a same first Gray code scheme is used to assignthe symbols for each of the rings of the symbol constellation.

In some implementations, the values of the first multi-bit portion ofthe symbols are aligned such that, for phase positions where multiple ofthe rings each have a constellation point located, the same value of thefirst multi-bit portion is used for the constellation point for each ofthe rings. For example, the first multi-bit portion can be consistentacross each of the rings at the same phase position. In other words, inthe constellation, the first multi-bit portion can beamplitude-invariant, so that changes in amplitude do not alter the valueof the value in the first multi-bit portion.

In another general aspect, a method includes: receiving, by a receiver,code blocks transmitted on a communication channel according to a firstset of communication parameters that comprises a first modulation usedto encode information in the code blocks for transmission; demodulatingthe received code blocks that are modulated with the first modulation,wherein the first modulation uses amplitude phase-shift keying (APSK)and has symbols at each of multiple symbol constellation rings thatrespectively correspond to different levels of signal amplitude. Theconstellation points on each ring are spaced apart to correspond todifferent phase positions. For at least some of the rings, the symbolsaround the ring are assigned to constellation points such that a firstmulti-bit portion of the symbols changes with changes in phase accordingto a Gray code sequence. The symbols around the ring are also assignedto the constellation points such that a second multi-bit portion of thesymbols changes with amplitude according to a Gray code sequence.

In some implementations, the rings include a first ring, a second ring,and a third ring.

In some implementations, the first ring corresponds to a first signalamplitude, the second ring corresponds to a second signal amplitude thatis higher than the first signal amplitude, and the third ringcorresponds to a third signal amplitude that his higher than the secondsignal amplitude.

In some implementations, the first ring and the second ring each includeconstellation points representing symbols having at least a firstmulti-bit portion with a progression of values around the ring that isordered in a Gray code sequence. The symbols of the first ring andsecond ring are aligned so that the value in the first multi-bit portionis the same for the same phase position.

In some implementations, the third ring has symbols assigned to have thefirst multi-bit portion assigned in a progression of values around thethird ring that is based on the same Gray code sequence used to setvalues of the multi-bit portion for the first ring and second ring. Thesymbols of the third ring are aligned with symbols of the first ring andsecond ring such that the value in the first multi-bit portion is thesame for the same phase position across the first ring, the second ring,and the third ring.

In some implementations, symbols on the first ring and second ring eachshare a common value at a particular bit position; symbols on the thirdring each share a common value at the particular bit position; and thevalue at the particular bit position is different for symbols on thethird ring than for symbols on the first and second rings. As a result,the value of the bit at the particular position (which may or may not bethe most significant bit) differentiates symbols between a first groupon the first and second rings and a second group on the third ring.

In some implementations, the third ring has pairs of symbols in whicheach symbol in the pair has the same value in the first multi-bitportion, but a different one of two values in a second multi-bitportion. The symbols in each pairs are arranged adjacent to each otheralong the third ring.

In some implementations, the first ring and second ring each includeeight symbols, and the third ring includes sixteen symbols. The firstring and second ring each have their respective symbols spaced apart bya phase difference of π/4. The third ring includes symbols spaced apartby a phase difference of π/8, and the symbols located at phase positionsthat are not multiples of π/4 each share the value that is in the firstmulti-bit portion of an adjacent symbol along the third ring that islocated at a phase position that is a multiple of π/4.

In some implementations, the symbol constellation can have more thanthree rings, and the same types of relationships discussed above (e.g.,Gray coding of portions of symbols between rings and Gray coding ofportions of symbols within rings) can be maintained.

In some implementations, a method includes: receiving data to transmitin a satellite communication system; modulating a carrier signal toprovide the data using an 8+8+16-APSK modulation; and transmitting themodulated signal for transmission in the satellite communication system.The 8+8+16-APSK modulation can use a symbol constellation that includesthree rings as discussed below.

In some implementations, a method includes: receiving a signaltransmitted in a satellite communication system; demodulating thereceived signal using an 8+8+16-APSK modulation to recover the datamodulated onto the signal; and providing the demodulated data to one ormore computers. The 8+8+16-APSK modulation can use a symbolconstellation that includes three rings as discussed below.

Other embodiments of these and other aspects of the disclosure includecorresponding systems, apparatus, and computer programs, configured toperform the actions of the methods, encoded on computer storage devices.A system of one or more computers can be so configured by virtue ofsoftware, firmware, hardware, or a combination of them installed on thesystem that in operation cause the system to perform the actions. One ormore computer programs can be so configured by virtue havinginstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the actions.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter of thisspecification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a system forimproving communication in a satellite environment despite a periodicblockage in a communication link.

FIG. 1B is an example flow diagram that illustrates modifying modulationand code rate based on a number of corrupted blocks in a frame.

FIG. 1C is a diagram that illustrates an example of outage duration in aframe of code blocks during communications with a periodic blockage.

FIGS. 2A-2B are diagrams that illustrate example components fortransmission and reception of code blocks with periodic blockages.

FIGS. 3A-3D are diagrams that illustrate example Gray coding for variousmodulation schemes.

FIG. 4 is a table that illustrates an example modulation selection basedon received a signal to noise ratio.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example of a process forimproving communication in a satellite environment despite a periodicblockage in a communication link.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a system 100for improving communication in a satellite environment despite aperiodic blockage in a communication link.

For example, the system 100 can adjust parameters for communications inthe satellite communication system, such as a modulation scheme orcoding scheme, based on characteristics of the periodic blockage.Typically, satellite communication systems can be designed with a linkmargin to ensure a receiver can properly receive and recovercommunications that may have been corrupted. The link margin canrepresent a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) orsignal-to-interference-and-noise (SINR) difference between the minimumexpected power received at the receiver's end and the receiver'ssensitivity, e.g., the level of received power at which the receiver nolonger receives communications accurately. Many systems set a linkmargin to a particular value, e.g., 3 decibels (dB). However, thisapproach does not provide the versatility to maximize throughput,especially in situations where robust error checking and correctiontechniques are applied.

As discussed below, the system 100 can adjust communication parametersincluding modulation, coding, and transmission frame properties totarget a predetermined, non-zero set of errors or corrupted data blocks.This allows the system 100 to operate with more aggressive (e.g., moreinformation-dense, higher-code-rate) parameters, even though someportions of the communication may be lost or corrupted during theperiodic blockage using those parameters. When a periodic blockage ispresent, setting parameters so conservatively as to avoid anyinformation loss may result in very low throughput or may be impossible.By using more aggressive parameters, unrecoverable errors are kept to anacceptable target level while communication in the non-blocked periodsoccurs with a high bandwidth. In many cases, the substantial improvementto the bandwidth in the non-blocked periods more than compensates forthe need to re-transmit any data that is lost in the blocked periods,leading to an overall increase in throughput of the channel despite thepresence of the periodic blockage. In addition, the error checking andcorrecting features of the system 100 can recover from many of the smallerrors that may occur due to operating closer to the limits of thereceiver's capability. Thus, the system 110 can improve throughput inview of the periodic blockage caused by helicopter blades and ensure thereceivers in the system 100 can still properly recover data received.FIG. 1A illustrates various operations in stages (A) through (I) whichcan be performed in the sequence indicated or another sequence.

In particular, the system 100 includes a satellite gateway 102, asatellite 104, and a satellite terminal 124. In the illustrated example,the satellite terminal 124 is mounted on a helicopter 106, although thetechniques discussed herein can be applied to receivers in otherconfigurations. The satellite gateway 102 can be connected to a network108 that includes the Internet, for example. The satellite 104, thesatellite gateway 102, and the satellite terminal 124 can be a part of asatellite communication network that includes one or more satellites,one or more gateways, and one or more satellite terminals. Although thetechniques described herein are described in terms of a satellitecommunication system, the techniques can be used in other wirelesscommunication systems.

In some implementations, the gateway 102 can include a transmitter 110and a receiver 112. Similarly, the satellite terminal 124 on thehelicopter 106 can include a transmitter 128 and a receiver 130. Thetransmitter 110 can transmit data to the receiver 130 using a set ofcommunication parameters. Similarly, the transmitter 128 can transmitdata to the receiver 112 using a set of communication parameters. Thetwo sets of communications parameters can be the same or can bedifferent, and both sets can vary over time as conditions change. Aswill be described, the communication parameters can include ULPEparameters that include a coding scheme, and interleaver parameters,e.g., an interleaver dimension involving one or more of a number ofrows, a number of columns, a total number of elements, etc. The codingcan be, for example, a forward error correction (FEC) scheme for thecommunication link, which may be used to counter the channel effectscaused by the communication link between the satellite gateway 102 andthe helicopter 106. Moreover, the communication parameters can include aparticular modulation scheme for modulating the bits to symbols to alsoaid in offsetting the channel effects caused by the communication linkin system 100.

The satellite terminal 124 can be mounted on a top portion of thehelicopter 106 for communicating with the satellite gateway 102 throughthe satellite 104. For example, the satellite terminal 124 can bemounted above a cabin of the helicopter 106, on a nose of the helicopter106, on a tail or the helicopter 106, in the cockpit of the helicopter106, within a passenger area of the helicopter 106, or on or in anotherappropriate area of the helicopter 106. The helicopter 106 can include arotor 122 with one or more blades 120. As the blades 120 rotate whilethe helicopter 106 is stationary or moving, the blades 120 can interceptthe line of communication 133 between the satellite terminal 124 and thesatellite 104 each time one of the blades 120 crosses the line ofcommunication 133. The rotation of the blades 120 causes periodicblockages, e.g., repeated temporary interruptions in the ability of thereceiver 130 to receive signals from the satellite 104.

The rotation of the blades 120 cause periodic blockages and an intervalbetween successive blockages from the blades 120 (e.g., from the startof one blockage to the start of the subsequent blockage) is known as the“blockage interval.” The blockage interval can vary over time, such asduring the course of travel of the helicopter 106 and when thehelicopter 106 powers on and powers down. For example, the blockageinterval can be a time duration between one blade 120 blocking the lineof communication 133 and the next successive blade 120 blocking the lineof communication 133. The “blockage duration” can be an amount of timethat one individual blade 120 blocks the line of communication as theblade 120 passes between the receiver 130 and the satellite 104.

The change in incident angle 118 can change the blockage interval and/orthe blockage duration, as the incident angle 118 affects the width ofthe shadow of the blade 120 that blocks the line of communication 133,e.g., the size of the shadow of the blade 120 on the receiver 130. Thechange in incident angle 118 can result from the helicopter 106'smaneuvers during its course of travel, e.g., banking left, bankingright, nose down, nose up, or accelerating in a particular direction, toname a few examples. For example, the shadow of the blade 120 thatblocks the line of communication 133 would be greater for a zero degreeincident angle 118 than for a 45-degree incident angle 118, because moresurface area of the blade 120 blocks the communication line 133 duringthe zero degree incident angle 118 as compared to the 45 degree incidentangle 118. However, these incident angles are shown as approximateangles for exemplary purposes, and the system 100 can exhibit otherincident angles between the receiver 130 and the satellite 104, e.g., byway of a line of communication 133 and the normal angle to the blades120. The incident angle 118 of the blades can also affect an amount offading that can corrupt the transmitted code blocks.

As described above, the periodic blockages of the communication link 133caused by the rotation of the helicopter blades 120 create blade shadowsthat ultimately generate a noise type known as fading. Fading generallyoccurs in radio propagation environments where multipath propagationexists resulting in communication paths diverging or changing.Specifically, the fading will change the amplitude and phases of thedata transmitted by the gateway 102 and/or the terminal 124 such thatthe data becomes corrupted. Ultimately, fading can distort or corruptthe transmitted data such that the transmitted data is unrecoverable ora portion of the transmitted data is unrecoverable by the receiver,e.g., receiver 112 and receiver 130.

Fading can affect communications in different communication bands. Forexample, L-band communication systems, e.g., communication systemsoperating in a frequency range of L-2 GHz, and S-band communicationsystems, e.g., communications operating in a frequency range of 1.4-2.2GHz, can have beam widths from the periodic blockages caused by thehelicopter blades 120 with broader blockage intervals and longerdurations. However, the fade depth is shallower in L-band and S-bandcommunication systems because the width of one helicopter blade 120 issimilar to the wavelength of the particular frequency band, e.g., 20centimeters (cm) for the L-band and 15 cm for the S-band. For example,the fade depth in an L-band and S-Band communication system can rangebetween 1 dB to 5 dB. In higher frequency bands, such as the Ku-band,e.g., frequency band between 12-18 GHz, and the Ka-band, e.g., frequencyband between 26-40 GHz, the beam width from those antennas aresufficiently narrow, and as such, the fade depth caused by thehelicopter blades 120 is deep and well defined. For example, the fadedepth in these high frequency bands may result in a 5 to 15 dBdegradation. The blade can shadow the antenna aperture partially at theonset of the fade and similarly when the antenna moves out of the shadowof the fade.

In order for the system 100 to counter the fade effects of periodicblockages caused by the helicopter blades 120, the system 100 canautomatically adjust the communication parameters to increase throughputby supporting higher-order modulations and/or higher code rates. Forexample, one of the receivers 130 or 112, or a controller or processorof the gateway 102 or the terminal 124 can adjust the communicationbased on current periodic blockages if the current level of link margin,in combination with the error correction schemes, allows for higherthroughput by causing the system to operate closer to the maximumallowed by the current SNR of the receiver and other conditions. Thesetechniques, as will be further described below, can adaptively changethe communication parameters over time to enhance the performance ofsystem 100 in view of the fade caused by the periodic blockages bysupporting higher-order modulation and higher code rates with improvedbandwidth efficiency.

Each transmitter 128 and 110 can transmit data in a frame, e.g., a ULPEframe formed of a number of component code blocks in a predeterminedorganization. The frame is formed of a series of code blocks thatincludes a predetermined number of code blocks, where the code blocks inthe series each have consistent, predetermined size and the frame itselfincludes a predetermined number of code blocks. The transmitter 110, forexample, can transmit a frame or a series of frames to the satellite104, and the satellite 104 can retransmit, e.g., forward, the series offrames to the receiver 130. The transmitter 128 of the satelliteterminal 124 can perform similar functions, such as transmitting theseries of frames to the satellite 104, and the satellite 104 canretransmit the one or more frames to the receiver 112. Both directionsof communication can occur simultaneously or at different times.

As mentioned, each frame is composed of a series of code blocks. Eachframe can include code blocks with transmitted data (e.g., “data codeblocks”) and code blocks with error checking and correction information(“parity code blocks”). The data code blocks and parity code blocks areinterleaved in the frame for improved robustness. For example, a framemay be defined to be a series of 12 code blocks, organized as threecolumns and four rows. Each column has one parity code block for errorcorrection in the column. As a result, in this example each column wouldhave four code blocks, three data code blocks and one parity code block.The interleaving can transmit each column in sequence, so thetransmission of the frame includes a first set of three data code blockswith the corresponding parity code block, a second set of three datacode blocks and its corresponding parity code block, and a third set ofthree data code blocks and its corresponding parity code block.

Each of the ULPE frames can be generated and transmitted according to aset of communication parameters. The transmitters 128 and 110 caninterleave data with error-correcting code (ECC) data to generate theULPE frame, and then modulate the ULPE frame using a particularmodulation scheme. The transmitters 128 and 110 can each usecommunication parameters that such as interleaving parameters definingthe frame structure, the forward error correction (FEC) parameters(e.g., “coding”), and modulation parameters. The system can adapt theseparameters over time based on monitored characteristics of the receiveddata (e.g., the frequency and amount of data loss) resulting from theperiodic blockage of the helicopter blades 120.

The ULPE frames may each include (1) data code blocks generated using alow-density parity check code (LPDC) and (2) parity code blocks thatinclude ECC data. These code blocks are organized into ULPE rows andcolumns so the transmitters can interleave the data in rows and columns.For example, the interleaver parameters can specify the number of ULPErows and the number of ULPE columns used to organize elements into theULPE code block that is transmitted. The parity code blocks can includeany appropriate ECC data, for example, convolutional codes, Hadamardcoding, Hamming coding, Reed-Solomon error correction, Reed-Mullercoding, and turbo coding, to name a few examples. In someimplementations, the parity code blocks represent the result of an XORoperation of all the data code blocks in the column. Examples ofmodulations include QPSK, 8-PSK, 8+8 APSK, 8+8+16 APSK, 16 QAM, and 32QAM.

The transmitter 110 generates a set of ULPE frames to be transmitted tothe receiver 130 of the helicopter 106. In a frame structure of fourcolumns and 8 rows, the set of code blocks may include, for example,eight rows of code block elements, e.g., a first row with four codeblock elements, a second row with four code block elements, through aseventh row with four code block elements. The eighth row of code blockelements exists for parity data or other ECC data. In this example, theeight rows of four code block elements can be encoded with a particularcoding scheme, e.g., LDPC-encoded or otherwise encoded to provide adesired internal FEC code rate. The row of four parity blocks (e.g., oneparity block per column) is included to provide parity information forrecovering data in data code blocks in their respective columns.

The columns of data code blocks represent the data to be transmitted bythe particular transmitter. For example, the data can be video data,telemetry data, audio data, Internet traffic, voice call traffic, orsome other form of data to be transmitted. The parity blocks enable areceiver 130 to evaluate each column of received data to determinewhether any corruption has occurred in reception of the column. Theparity blocks may include parity bits that allow for detecting andcorrecting errors in the column. For example, the receiver 130 canperform XOR operations across received data code blocks to verifycorrect reception.

The interleaver parameters can define the number of rows and the numberof columns of the ULPE frame. The number of rows in the interleaverparameters can also affect the code rate. The system can use errorcorrection coding within a data code block, and also uses parity codingthrough the higher-level ULPE framework (e.g., including data codeblocks and parity code blocks). The inner code rate represents theamount of data bits out of total bits within a data code block. There isalso an outer code rate, representing the amount of code blocks in aframe that are data code blocks out of total code blocks (e.g., datacode blocks plus parity code blocks.) For the outer code rate, an 8/9outer code rate indicates that the ULPE frame can include 8 rows of datacode block elements and one row of parity code block elements. Inanother example, a 1/2 outer code rate indicates that the ULPE frame caninclude 1 row of data code block elements and one row of parity codeblock elements. In another example, a 2/3 outer code rate indicates thatthe ULPE code block can include 2 rows of data code block elements andone row of parity code block elements.

A size of the code block is typically chosen such that a block durationconsists of a small number of contiguous code blocks. For example, atransmitter can set a number of columns in the ULPE code block based onthe duration of the intermittent blockage of the helicopter blades 120,e.g., an average or maximum duration, over a recent window of time. Thenumber of columns is generally determined so that any individualblockage will not have a duration greater than the duration to transmitone row of a ULPE code block. Thus, the number of columns in theinterleaver can be set based on the blockage duration and the durationof individual ULPE code blocks.

In some implementations, the number of rows in each column is typicallybased on the code rate and the blockage interval. For example, a largernumber of rows may be desired for greater transmission efficiency, e.g.,a high ratio of data to parity or other ECC information. However, thenumber of rows can be set so that the total size of the ULPE code blockis also short enough that no more than one full duration of theintermittent blockage will coincide with any given ULPE code block. Themaximum number of rows should make the time duration of the ULPEinterleaver be less than the blockage interval, while the number of rowsis at least two including the parity row. More rows provides a higherULPE outer FEC code rate and results in higher throughput. For example,an overall parity check block P is formed by adding a number of codeblocks in modulo-2.

As an example, consider one scenario where the duration of an individualblockage is 3 milliseconds (ms) and the blockages repeat at an intervalof 10 ms. Transmission of one code block element may take 1 ms, forexample, sending 1,000 symbols at 1 Megasymbol per second (M-symbols/s).In that case, at least 3 columns are included in the ULPE code block andcorresponding interleaver. The number of columns needs to be high enoughthat the transmission duration for each row of the ULPE code block is atleast as high as the duration of an individual blockage. To facilitatethe adaptation, and to provide a buffer for changing blockageconditions, the number of columns can be increased from this minimumlevel. In this example, four columns may be used. As a result, theinterleaver can arrange the data in four columns. This can ensure thatany instance of the intermittent blockage does not affect more than onecode block element from each column of the ULPE code block.

The number of columns can be set based on the blockage interval, so thatmultiple blockages do not occur during the span of a single ULPE column.In other words, the duration needed to transmit a column can be lessthan the blockage interval. In some implementations, the duration of theentire frame is less than or equal to the blockage interval. Forexample, if the blockage occurs every 10 ms, the number of rows andcolumns can be set so the ULPE frame, or at least each column of theframe, has a transmission duration no more than 10 ms. The desirednumber of columns can be used in this determination of column count. Forexample, given the use of four columns and other conditions, thetransmission of one row can have a duration of 4 ms. This means thatonly two rows, with a total of 8 ms duration, would be able to betransmitted fully before a second blockage occurs. Accordingly, two rowswould be used, with one of them being designated for parity blocks. Atthe code block element level, this can represent a code rate of 1/2e.g., not factoring in overhead such as inner error correction withinindividual code block elements.

In other implementations, the determination of the number of rows can beadjusted based on a link margin of the system 100. In particular,satellite communication systems are typically designed with a linkmargin amount. As an example, a link margin of 3 dB may be used. Aspreviously indicated, the link margin can represent the differencebetween the minimum expected power received at the receiver's end, andthe receiver's sensitivity, e.g., the received power at which thereceiver stops working. In some cases, system 100 may transmit theseries of code blocks successfully, despite periodic blockages, with alarge amount of link margin available to be exploited. For example, if 3dB is available to be exploited to push the boundaries of the channelcapacity, the system 100 can increase the coding and/or the modulationscheme for higher throughput, while still maintaining a link marginamount, e.g., no less than 1 dB, otherwise the system 100 will stopfunctioning properly.

As will be further described below, the blocked duration caused by thehelicopter blades 120 is equal to the time required to send parityblocks, and the extra link margin can be exploited to determinecommunication parameters to push through higher throughput. Typically,the unused error correcting capability is one divided by the number ofcode blocks in a row or greater, necessitated by the fact that the startof fade duration from the helicopter blades 120 is not synchronized witha code block boundary. When the number of code blocks in a row cannot befactorized into a particular value, more than one extra parity block isrequired. For example, if the number of code blocks in a row is 12, thenumber of parity code blocks cannot be five, but must be either four orsix. One way to remove this hard designation of number of parity blocksin a transmission is for system 100 to allow a small encroachment offade duration in either a front portion or a back portion of a codeblock, which will be further illustrated and described below. Modernerror correction coding typically can correct a high error rate in asmall portion of a code block due to the built-in interleavingcapability of the LDPC or turbo codes, for example.

Consider a scenario where the duration of an individual blockage is 15ms and the blockages repeat at an interval of 60 ms. The duration of anindividual blockage can represent a fade duration, a duration that thecommunication link between the helicopter and the satellite is blockedor impaired. Transmission of one code block element may take 5 ms, forexample, sending 1,000 symbols at 5 M-symbols/s. The duration of oneframe may be 60 ms when there are 12 code blocks per frame, e.g., a 60ms frame duration made up of twelve 5 ms per-code-block portions. In aworst-case scenario, when a periodic blockage starts at the exact centerof a code block, the code block experiences a maximum fade depth of 2 dBat the end of the code block. Moreover, if the inherent error correctioncapability of the code block can handle a fade profile starting atmid-point, and increases to a depth of 2 dB at the end of the codeblock, then the a 75% efficiency level (e.g., outer code rate) isachieved, because nine of the twelve data blocks can include user data,and the within-code-block ECC and ULPE ECC can together provide accuratereception. Similarly, if the blockage starts at the first half of thecode block, the last code block corrupted by the fade decreases from adepth of no more than 2 dB and can recover to normal signal strength bymiddle of the block.

In some implementations, the receivers can perform a method to achievehigher throughput despite periodic blockages. For example, each receivercan include an automatic gain control (AGC). The receiver's AGC canadjust its gain based on a total of signal plus noise power averagedover time. The receiver's AGC can be configured to detect thepresence/absence of the blade blockage and the depth of the fade. Basedon the presence/absence of the blade blockage and the depth of the fade,the receiver's AGC can aid in selecting the number of parity blocks thatis sufficient to cover the fade period covered by the helicopter blades.One way to do this is for helicopter 106, the receiver 130 can select anoperating configuration, flight characteristics, and which satellite,e.g., satellite 104, to be used for communication. The receiver 130 canalso determine the key communication parameters, including nominalreceiver signal to noise (S/N) ratio, the S/N ratio, the periodicinterval between blade interruptions, the number of code blocks, and theduration of the blade blockage. The receiver can also select theparticular modulation scheme required for communication the series ofcode blocks.

For a given modulation, an adjustment can alter the number of parityblocks used, in order to maintain reliable communication. For example,in a scenario where 12 code blocks are being transmitted, since thenumber of parity blocks needs to be an integer fraction of the 12 codeblocks, the number of parity blocks can be 2, 3, 4 and 6. The value ofthe number of code blocks can be close to, but slightly smaller than theactual period of the blade blockage to ensure recovery of corruptedblocks using the type of parity check code. Additionally, the receivermay select the number of code blocks to transmit based on a product ofseveral small integers for easy interleaver and parity check blockconstruction. However, since the fade duration of the helicopter blade120 sets the minimum number of parity blocks, this choice of a series ofcode blocks may be limited. For a given modulation to be considered, thereceiver can select the minimum number of parity blocks to cover thefade duration. If the selected minimum number of parity blocks is notsufficient, e.g., the number of corruptible code blocks isunrecoverable, then the receiver can try a different number of parityblocks, and determine which number of code blocks allows for recovery ofthe corrupted code blocks. Another method to improve the throughput insystem 100 is to exploit the excess link margin available. For example,the link margin in absence of the blade shadowing can be used todetermine the highest-order modulation available to be used, and assuch, some link margin is typically allocated to accommodate variationin flight conditions. The allocated link margin can affect the number ofparity blocks needed to cover the fade period caused by the helicopterblades.

In some implementations, the system 100 can achieve higher throughputwhen received signal strength is high. In particular, the system 100 canuse a higher-order modulation with appropriate FEC code rate whilemaintaining a reasonable link margin, such as 3 dB. The selection of themodulation can be based on the measured signal-to-noise ratio as seen bythe receiver without blade blockage. Additionally, the selectedmodulation can also change the value of the transmitted number of codeblocks, as less time may be taken to send the same length of a codeblock. In a typical pragmatic capacity chart, communication throughputtypically increases as you increase the modulation by around 8% per dB.Thus, it may be beneficial to reduce the link margin using a moreefficient modulation scheme and/or coding scheme combination.

During stage (A), the gateway 102, or more specifically the transmitter110 can generate a ULPE code block 114 to transmit to the satelliteterminal 124. The data within the ULPE code block 114 can include videodata, audio data, telemetry data, or other data, to name a few examples.The transmitter 110 can generate the ULPE code block 114 using theparameters 111 identified in FIG. 1A. For example, the parameters 111,which represent starting ULPE parameters in this example, can include acode rate of 7/8, include four columns, eight rows of data blocks, andcan modulate and transmit the ULPE code block 114 using QPSK modulation.

For example, the transmitter 110 can generate a series of code blockelements 150 b, such as code block elements (i) B1-B4, (ii) B5-B8, (iii)B9-B12, (iv) B13-B16, (v) B17-B21, (vi) B22-B25, (vii) B26-B29, and(viii) P1, P2, P3, and P4. Thus, the communication parameters 111 caninclude a 7/8 FEC code rate, at least based on the code block elementitself, and an interleaver dimension of eight rows and four columns. Thetransmitter 110 can modulate the series of code block elements 150 b inthe ULPE code block 114 using QPSK, such that each symbol carries twobits of information. Each code block 150 b may include any number ofbits, such as thousands of bits.

During stage (B), the transmitter 110 can transmit the ULPE code block114 to the satellite 104 over a satellite network. In particular, thetransmitter 110 can transmit the ULPE code block 114 on a row-by-rowbasis in order to interleave the contents of the four columns. Forexample, the order of transmission of the code block elements can be B1,B2, B3, B4, B5, B6, B7, B8, B9, B10, B11, B12, B13, B14, B15, B16, B17,B18, B19, B20, B21, B22, B23, B24, B25, B26, B27, B28, B29, P1, P2, P3,and P4. The transmitter 110 may use other communication parameters notcurrently described here to transmit the ULPE code block 114 to thesatellite 104.

During stage (C), the satellite 104 can receive the code block elementsfrom the ULPE code block 114. The satellite 104 can retransmit thereceived code block elements as they come in to the terminal 124 of thehelicopter 106. However, as the satellite 104 transmits the receivedcode block elements of the ULPE code block 114 to the receiver 130 ofthe satellite terminal 124, the reception of some of the code blocks canbe corrupted if a blade 120 blocks the line of communication 133 whilethe code block element 130 a transmission passes through the path of theblades 120. In this example, the blade 120 can corrupt code blocks 150b. This represents a single blockage by the blade 120 of the helicopter106, corrupting a single set of code blocks in the ULPE code block 114.This can involve the use of a single rotor blade passing once through adirect line of sight in the communication link 133 between the receiver130 and the satellite 104. In this example, the duration of the blockageis the length of one and a half code block elements.

For example, as illustrated in graphical representation 134 in system100, a series of code blocks are received by the receiver 130 in thesatellite terminal 124 and the received series of code blocks includesome corrupted components caused by the helicopter blades 120. Inparticular, the graphical representation 134 illustrates a periodicblockage and each blockage includes a particular duration. Each periodicblockage can include a depth or a fade depth based on the blockagecaused by the helicopter blades 120 passing through the code blocksduring transmission from the satellite 104. The helicopter blades 120can generate a blade shadow on some of the code blocks, andconsequently, the blockage creates a blockage duration, a blockagedepth, and a periodicity of the blockage. The periodicity of theblockage can match to a periodicity of a helicopter blade 120'srotation. For example, duration of the blade blockage may be 60 ms andthe fade depth of the blockage can be 5 dB.

When the receiver 130 receives the code blocks in the ULPE code block114, the receiver 130 can determine the communication parameters 111used to transmit the code elements 150 b, for example, from messagestransmitted by the satellite, by a transmission scheme proposed by thereceiver 130, or by another predetermined scheme. For example, thereceiver 130 may determine the coding properties used, the framestructure, and the modulation used. This information enables thereceiver 130 to determine how to properly demodulate the transmissionand extract the data, e.g., map the symbols to bits, and to properlyde-interleave the received blocks. In some implementations, the receiver130 may store the communication parameters 111 used by the transmitter110 for transmitting the ULPE code block 114. In other implementations,the receiver 130 may determine the communication parameters 111 used bythe transmitter 110 for transmitting the ULPE code block 114 byanalyzing header information within the code blocks 114.

In some implementations, the receiver 130 can also determine the numberof parity blocks within the ULPE code block 114. The receiver 130 maydetermine the number of parity blocks within the ULPE code block 114 bydetermining the number of columns transmitted in the ULPE code block114. Alternatively or additionally, the receiver 130 may determine thenumber of parity blocks within the ULPE code block 114 by analyzingheader information within the code blocks 150 a, such that the headerinformation distinguishes the code blocks from the parity blocks.Additionally, the receiver 130 may determine the number of rows in theULPE code block 114 based on the total number of columns and the totalnumber of code block elements. For example, the receiver 130 maydetermine the number of rows in the ULPE code block 114 by dividing thetotal number of code block elements by the total number of determinedcolumns.

During stage (D), the receiver 130 can detect an outage duration basedon a number of corrupted code block elements. In particular, thereceiver 130 can analyze the parity blocks of the ULPE code block 114 toverify the integrity of the data that was transmitted. For example, thereceiver 130 can determine that a number of code blocks were corruptedduring the transmission of the ULPE code block 114. In this example,there are two corrupted code blocks and the other code blocks werecorrectly received. Based on the determination that two code blocks werecorrupted, the receiver 130 can measure the outage or blockage durationas well as the blockage interval caused by the blades 120 of thehelicopter 106.

The receiver 130 can determine or measure the outage duration based on atime duration of the number of consecutive code blocks that arecorrupted. The receiver 130 can determine that a particular code blockis corrupted when the ECC method, e.g., the inner LDPC analysis, failsto converge to an accurate codeword. For example, the receiver 130 maydetermine the duration of a code block element based on a given symbolrate. This code block element transmission duration can represent a timeduration in which the transmitter 110 transmits the code block element.Based on the duration of the code block element and a number ofconsecutive number of code block elements that are corrupted, thereceiver 130 can determine the blockage duration by, for example,multiple the duration of a code block element transmission multiplied bythe number of consecutive code block elements that are corrupted, forexample.

In some implementations, the receiver 130 can perform further functionson the detected blockage to fine tune the detected outage duration. Forexample, the receiver 130 can evaluate the received signal strengthindicator (RSSI) of the received code block and compare the RSSI to athreshold value. If the receiver 130 determines the RSSI of the receivedcode block is below a threshold, the receiver 130 can determine that theportion of the received code block is corrupted. Alternatively oradditionally, the receiver 130 can average or determine a value thatnormalizes the number of individual blockage durations to improve thedetection of the blockage duration.

During stage (E), based on the determined blockage duration, thereceiver 130 can then determine one or more additional blockagecharacteristics. For instance, the receiver 130 can determine theblockage interval in the ULPE code block 114. In some implementations,the receiver 130 can determine an estimated blockage interval using therotational speed of the helicopter blades 120. For example, the receiver130 may determine based on a traveling speed of the helicopter 106, acorresponding rotational speed of the helicopter blades 120. Therotational speed of the helicopter blades 120 may define the blockageinterval of the periodic blockage of the communication link 133 over aperiod of time.

Nevertheless, the helicopter rotor speeds need not be known precisely orused, and the system can still measure the blockage interval from theeffect on communications. As an example, the receiver 130 can determineor measure a number of non-corrupted code block elements that werereceived after the first blockage but before a second blockage, e.g.,with no intervening corrupted code blocks between the first and secondblockages. The receiver 130 can determine a sum of the number ofcorrupted code block elements and the number of non-corrupted code blockelements from the start of one blockage to the beginning of the nextblockage. Then, the receiver 130 can determine the blockage interval bymultiplying the duration of a code block element transmission,determined as described above, by the sum of the number of corruptedcode block elements and the number of non-corrupted code block elementsbetween the first and second blockages. The receiver 130 may use thiscomparison to predict future blockages for subsequent transmissions.

For example, as illustrated in system 100, the receiver 130 candetermine the blockage duration by analyzing a portion of the receivedsignal as illustrated in graphical representation 134. In particular,the receiver 130 can analyze received signal strength and received datafor a portion of the transmission identified in the figure assection 136of the graphical representation 134. The section 136 can represent atime period of one blockage duration that includes non-corrupted andcorrupted code blocks. For example, as shown in system 100, data codeblocks 1 through 5 and parity code blocks 2 and 3 are not corrupted andcode block 6 and parity block 1 are corrupted. The receiver 130 canfirst measure the blockage duration by calculating the time duration ofdata code block 6 and parity code block 1. The receiver 130 candetermine the blockage interval by measuring the period of the blockageduration. For instance, the receiver 130 can measure the blockageinterval by measuring the duration of the uncorrupted first five codeblocks, e.g., data code blocks 1-5, and the duration of the corruptedtwo blocks, e.g., data code block 6 and parity code block 1.

Then, the receiver 130 can measure the blockage interval over multipleULPE code blocks. The receiver 130 can measure the blockage intervalover a first ULPE code block, and measure a second blockage intervalover the second ULPE code block. If the blockage interval over the firstULPE code block and the second blockage interval over the second ULPEcode block are similar, then the receiver 130 can indicate it hasdetermined the blockage interval. In the illustrated example, if onecode block takes 5 ms to transmit, then the blockage duration can be 10ms, e.g., 5 ms per code block multiplied by two code block elements is10 ms, and the blockage interval can be 35 ms, e.g., seven code blockelements multiplied by 5 ms per code block is 35 ms. In someimplementations, the blockage duration and the blockage interval changebased on the flight trajectory and the incident angle 118 of thehelicopter 106. Thus, the receiver 130 can continuously determine theblockage duration and blockage interval over time for generating newULPE parameters.

During stage (F), the receiver 130 can measure the fade characteristicscorresponding to the received ULPE code block 114. The receiver 130 canperform processes to determine characteristics of the fading caused bythe helicopter blades 120. For example, the receiver 130 can provide thereceived ULPE code block 114 through an analog-to-digital converter(ADC) to sample and quantize the received ULPE code block 114 toindicate magnitude values of the received ULPE code block 114. Thereceiver 130 can analyze within the blockage duration the quantizedvalues to determine, for example, a slope of the fade detected at thestart of the blockage duration, a slope of the fade detected at the endof the blockage duration, and a magnitude of the fade depth.

The slope of the fade detected at the start of the blockage duration andthe slope of the fade detected at the end of the blockage duration maybe useful in assisting the receiver 130 in determining a new modulationscheme or a new coding scheme for subsequent transmissions between thegateway 102 and the satellite terminal 124. Moreover, the magnitude ofthe fade depth can be useful in determining whether the received signalstrength exceeds that of the link margin. If the receiver 130 determinesthat the fade depth is greater than the link margin amount, then thereceiver 130 may determine that a lower modulation and/or coding schemeis required. Alternatively, if the receiver 130 determines that the fadedepth is less than the link margin amount, then the receiver 130 maydetermine to use a higher modulation scheme and/or a coding scheme thatincreases throughput over the communication link 133.

During stage (G), the receiver 130 can use the blockage characteristicsand fade characteristics to determine a parity scheme that maximizes thedata throughput for future communications between the gateway 102 andthe helicopter 106. For example, the receiver 130 can determine newinterleaver parameters, different number of parity blocks, and othercharacteristics, such as symbol rate and potentially even transmitfrequency. The receiver 130 may determine a new set of interleaverparameters based on the blockage duration. Additionally, the receiver130 can determine a new number of rows for the interleaver parameters toreduce the ULPE interleaver duration to be less than the determinedblockage interval.

For example, the receiver 130 can determine the number of rows forfuture communications based on the determined blockage interval. Forexample, the number of rows can be equal to the duration of the blockageinterval divided by the time duration to transmit an entire row ofcolumns. For example, if there are three columns, the number of rows canequal to the block interval divided by the time duration to transmit forcode block elements (one in each column).

Once the new set of interleaver columns and rows have been determined,the receiver 130 can determine a new set of parity blocks. The number ofparity blocks based on the number of determined columns, for example.Each parity block may be determined, for example, by XOR'ing each datablock together in a column to provide a resultant parity block. Thenewly determined parity block can then be appended to the bottom of thecolumn. The receiver 130 can do this for each of the newly determinedcode blocks in their respective columns. The receiver 130 can use anyECC scheme necessary, e.g., turbo coding, CRC, or other EEC codingmechanisms.

During stage (H), the receiver 130 can determine a new coding and/ormodulation scheme based on the impact of the blockage duration, blockageinterval, and fade characteristics on communications. Referring to FIG.1B, the process 101 illustrates a process to determine whether toincrease or decrease the modulation or coding scheme, or to perform ano-operation (No-op), depending on the measured blockagecharacteristics. In some implementations, the process 101 aids thereceiver 130 in determining a modulation and/or coding scheme using atable such as one shown in FIG. 4 . Additionally, the process 101 aidsthe receiver in determining the number of parity blocks that is neededto cover an entire blockage period by taking into account theasynchronous relationship between the blade rotation and parity codeblock boundary.

In particular, once the gateway 102 and the satellite terminal 124 haveestablished reliable reception between one another, the receiver 130 ofthe satellite terminal 124 can analyze the designed link margin and thepractical link margin available to adjust the modulation and codingscheme. For example, the receiver 130 can determine that the system 100was designed with a link margin of 3 dB. Then, when an ULPE code block114 is received from the gateway 102, the receiver 130 can determine ifthe actual margin is excessive or not sufficient. If the receiver 130determines that the actual margin is excessive, e.g., if the maximumnumber of erased or corrupted code block is at least one less than thedesigned erasure capability, then the receiver 130 can request to moveto a higher inner code rate. In particular, the receiver 130 can detectan inner code block error and erase them based on either (i) a CyclicRedundancy Check (CRC) of the decoded information or (ii) simply usingthe parity check equations of the inner code.

After the receiver 130 has instructed the gateway 102 to move to ahigher coding scheme, by way of sending instructions to the gateway 102,the receiver 130 can wait to receive future ULPE code blocks from thegateway 102. When the receiver 130 does receive the future ULPE codeblocks with the higher code rate, the receiver 130 can analyze thereceived future ULPE code blocks and analyze if the number of erasedcode blocks exceed the designed value. If the receiver 130 determinesnumber of erased code blocks does exceed the designed value of erasedcode blocks, then the receiver 130 can instruct the gateway 102 to moveto a lower coding scheme. At this point, if the number of erased blocksdoes not exceed the design value or fall below the designed value, thena maximum throughput for the time being has been achieved.

When the receiver 130 determines that it becomes more efficient to use ahigher-order modulation with lower code rate to achieve a similarthroughput, similar iterative procedures can be performed to request forhigher-order modulation, using a value of a number of code blocks to betransmitted in the ULPE code block for the higher-order modulation and anew coding scheme with a new code rate. In some implementations, thereceiver 130 can perform hysteresis to ensure changes between modulationand coding schemes of subsequent communications are performed withouttoo much changing. By averaging or performing some statistical analyseson the determination of code rate and/or modulation schemes, thereceiver 130 can ensure the code rate and/or modulation schemes are notchanged so often that processing at the terminals becomes in excess.

The process 101 illustrates a process that can be performed by thereceiver to determine a change or no change in modulation and/or codingscheme. In particular, the receiver 130 in the satellite terminal 124 orthe receiver 112 in the gateway 102 can perform this process 101. Insome cases, each pass of process 101 can be performed on a periodicfrequency, such as 1 or 2 times per second. Alternatively, the process101 can be performed each time the receiver receives a new ULPE codepacket from a transmitter.

The system can provide hysteresis and reduce the frequency at whichchanges are made. In some cases, a link margin, e.g., 1 dB, can bemaintained to limit the instances that changes are made to the code rateand/or modulation scheme. For example, rather than maximizing thethroughput, the system can require a link margin of at least 1 dB beforeany change is made to a higher code rate or higher-order modulation.

Initially, at block 140, the receiver can start with an initialmodulation and an initial code rate. The initial modulation can be oneof, for example, various schemes of PSK, QAM, and amplitude modulation,to name a few examples. The initial code rate can be one of, forexample, 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 5/6, 7/8, and other code rates for different FECcoding schemes.

At block 142, the receiver 130 can receive the ULPE code block from thetransmitter 110 at the gateway 102, for example. Alternatively, thereceiver 112 can receive a ULPE code block from the transmitter 128, inother examples. The receiver 130 can perform a process of determining acount E, where E represents the number of corrupted or unrecoverablecode blocks in a frame, in a period N, where N represents a time periodfor transmission of one frame. The key shown in the process 101illustrates the descriptions of the variables. Additionally, the keyindicates D represents the number of parity blocks designated in eachframe. Thus, the receiver 130 can count the number of corrupted orunrecoverable code blocks in a time period for transmission of oneframe. The process for determining the number of corrupted orunrecoverable code blocks is similar to the process described above.

At block 144, the receiver 130 determines whether the number ofcorrupted code blocks in a frame, e.g., E, is equal to the number ofparity blocks in a frame, e.g., D. If the receiver determines that thenumber of code blocks in a frame is equal to the number of parity blocksin a frame, then at block 146, the receiver 130 does not change eitherthe modulation scheme or the code rate for subsequent transmissionsbetween the gateway 102 and the satellite terminal 124. Thus, thetransmitter continues to transmit code blocks at the designatedmodulation and coding scheme as maximum throughput is currently beingachieved with these communication parameters.

However, if the number of corrected code blocks in a frame does notequal to the number of parity blocks in a frame, then at block 148, thereceiver 130 determines whether the number of corrupted code blocks in aframe is less than the number of parity blocks in a frame. If this isthe case, then the receiver 130 can determine that excess link marginexists and that either a higher coding scheme or a higher-ordermodulation can be used to improve the throughput of system 100. In thiscase, the receiver 130 can determine, at block 150, if a higher coderate is available. If the receiver 130 determines that a higher coderate is available, then at block 156, the receiver 130 can instruct thegateway 102 to communicate at the higher code rate for subsequenttransmissions. For example, the receiver 130 may move from a code rateof 1/2 to a code rate of 3/4, or from a code rate of 5/6 to a code rateof 7/8, to name a few examples.

If at block 148, the receiver 130 determines that the number ofcorrupted code blocks is not less than the number of parity blocks in aframe, then the receiver 130 can determine that excess link margin doesnot exist and that the communication between the gateway 102 and thesatellite 124 needs to either reduce its code rate or modulation scheme.At block 152, the receiver 130 can determine whether a lower code rateis actually available. If the receiver 130 determines that a lower coderate is available, then at block 162, the receiver 130 can instruct thegateway 102 to communicate at a lower code rate for subsequenttransmissions. For example, the receiver 130 may move from a code rateof 3/4 to a code rate of 1/2, or from a code rate of 7/8 to a code rateof 5/6, to name a few examples.

If the receiver 130 at block 152 determines that a lower code rate isnot available, then at block 160, the receiver 130 determines if alower-order modulation is available. If the receiver 130 determines thata lower-order modulation is not available, then at block 168, thereceiver 130 does not change the modulation or the coding scheme becausethe lowest modulation and coding schemes have been met. However, if thereceiver 130 determines that a lower-order modulation is available atblock 152, then the receiver 130 can instruct the gateway 102 tocommunicate at a lower-order modulation for subsequent transmissions.For example, the receiver 130 may move from a modulation scheme of 64QAM to 16 QAM, from 8-PSK to QPSK, or from 8+8+16 APSK to 8+8 APSK, toname a few examples.

If the receiver 130, at block 150, determines that a higher code rate isnot available, then the receiver 130 can determine whether ahigher-order modulation is available at block 154. If the receiver 130determines that no higher-order modulation is available, then thereceiver 130 does not change the modulation or the coding scheme becausethe highest modulation and coding schemes have been met at block 164.Alternatively, if the receiver 130 determines that a higher-ordermodulation is available at block 158, then the receiver 130 can instructthe gateway 102 to communicate at a higher-order modulation forsubsequent transmissions. For example, the receiver 130 may move from amodulation scheme of 16 QAM to 64 QAM, from QPSK to 8-PSK, or from 8+8APSK, to name a few examples.

In some implementations, the receiver 130 can define an order of thecoding schemes and an order of the modulation schemes based on differentcharacteristics. For example, the receiver can define the order of thecoding schemes based on an amount of throughput each coding schemetypically offers when paired particular modulation schemes. In otherexamples, the receiver can define the order of the coding schemes basedon an amount of bit error rate (BER) the coding scheme typically canachieve. In other examples, the receiver can define the order of thecoding schemes based on (i) the number of columns, (ii), the number ofrows, or (ii) the number of parity bits designated according to theparticular coding scheme.

The receiver can define the order of the modulation based on the numberof bits per symbol—the greater the number of bits per symbol, the higherthe order of that modulation scheme. In other examples, the receiver candefine the order of the modulation based on a distance between each ofsubsequent symbols. For example, in the modulation scheme of Gray-codedQPSK, the distance between 00 and 01 is greater than the distancebetween 000 and 001 in Gray-coded 8-PSK, and thus, Gray-coded QPSK wouldbe ranked higher than Gray-coded 8-PSK. Other ranking schemes are alsopossible.

By including criteria for ranking the coding and modulation schemes, adesigner can have flexibility in terms design constraints include codingand modulation schemes. The criteria can be based on improving BER,improving throughput, improving the distances between symbols to ensureless errors, and other criteria. Additionally, the receiver can ensurethat the symbols are encoded with gray coding, such that the ordering ofthe successive symbols for the modulation scheme only differs by onebit. Gray coding is particularly beneficial in the case of multi-ringconstellation in which neighboring rings differ in only 1 bit. An APSKmodulation can be used, with the amplitude being used to encode thebit(s) used to select which of the rings of the constellation is used.Signal fade is most likely to affect the amplitude of the receivedsignals, and because the constellation uses the amplitude to encode thering selection, the error can be limited to a single bit. In otherwords, even if there is an error selecting the correct ring, theremaining bits received will most likely be correct. Additionally,state-of-the art turbo and LDPC codes are adept in correcting single biterrors, which further improves performance of the system (e.g., byreducing the error rate for reception).

The receiver 130 can periodically and/or repeatedly measure the blockageduration, the blockage interval, and execute the process 101 todetermine a new set of communication parameters for subsequenttransmissions. For example, as the blockage duration and/or the blockageinterval increases or decreases, the flow diagram 201 may indicate thereceiver 130 to adjust the corresponding interleaving parameters, themodulation scheme, and/or the coding scheme used for subsequenttransmissions. When the receiver 130 determines that an excess of linkmargin exists, e.g., by determining the number of corrupted blocks isless than the number of designated parity blocks, then the receiver 130can seek to improve throughput by choosing a higher-order modulation orcoding scheme, as indicated above. By selecting a high order modulationor higher coding scheme, the excess link margin should shrink. As longas the number of corrupted blocks does not exceed the number ofdesignated parity blocks for subsequent communications, the receiver mayseek to improve throughput by adjusting the modulation and/or codingscheme. Additionally, the interleaving parameters can be adjusted suchas the number of rows or number of columns based on the blockageduration. For example, as the blockage duration increases, the number ofcolumns can be increased.

Returning back to FIG. 1A of system 100, during stage (I), thetransmitter 128 of the satellite gateway 124 can transmit, to thegateway 102, the data according to the new communication parameters 132.For example, after the coding and modulation was performed during stage(H), the receiver 130 determines that a new modulation scheme wasselected, e.g., 8-PSK. Thus, the new communication parameters 132provide a code rate of 7/8, specify a modulation scheme of 8-PSK, setthe number of columns to 4, and set the number of rows to 8. Thetransmitter 128 of the helicopter 106 can transmit the new communicationparameters 132 as a series of code blocks to the receiver 112 of thegateway 102 over the communication link 133 through the satellite 104.When the receiver 112 receives the series of code blocks that includethe new communication parameters 132, the receiver 112 can transmit thenew communication parameters 132 to the transmitter 110. The receiver112 can determine the new communication parameters 132 from the receivedseries of code blocks by demodulating and decoding the data within theseries of code blocks.

After the transmitter 110 receives the new communication parameters 132from the receiver 112, the transmitter 110 can transmit the series ofcode blocks to the satellite terminal 124 over the communication link133 using the new communication parameters 132. The transmitter 110 canuse communication parameters set forth by the satellite terminal 124.Additionally or alternatively, the transmitter 128 can use communicationparameters set forth by the gateway 102. The transmitters may notify thereceivers when the communication parameters are set to be used in thefuture so that the transmitters and receivers communicate use the samecommunication parameters.

FIG. 1C is illustrates an example of outage duration in a frame of codeblocks during communications with a periodic blockage. In particular,the diagram illustrates a clearer and more and illustrative view of anoutage duration over a frame.

For example, FIG. 1C illustrates the graphical representation 134 thatwas shown in FIG. 1 . The graphical representation 134 illustrates howperiodic blockages affect the received signal strength indicator (RSSI)for the received code blocks, where the blockages are caused by thehelicopter blades' periodic motion. The section 136 shows in greaterdetail a time period in which a series of 9 code blocks, indicated asB1-B6 (data code blocks) and P1-P3 (parity code blocks), aretransmitted. Labels for the time periods in which the different codeblocks are transmitted are overlaid onto the RSSI line chart forreference. The time period shown in section 136 starts near the end of afirst blockage instance. Transmission of the code block B1 begins atthis time, but because the RSSI is greater than the threshold, the codeblock can still be recovered accurately in this case. In other words,although there is reduced signal strength at this part of the blockage(e.g., the trailing end of the helicopter blade passing), the signalstrength is not lowered at that moment below the level that permitsreception. In addition, or alternatively, the error correction coding,the LDPC transmission structure, and the Gray coding of the signal canindividually or together allow minor errors to be detected and correcteddespite the slight impairment to the reception of code block B 1.

The section 136 shows that code blocks B2-B5 are receive correctly, asRSSI is above the reception threshold. However, another instance of theperiodic blockage during transmission of code blocks B6 and P1, and RSSIfalls below the reception threshold during transmission of both of theseblocks. As a result, code blocks B6 and P1 may be corrupted (e.g.,incomplete or with unrecoverable errors).

Diagram 138 show a more idealized representation of a single blockageinstance. In particular, the diagram 138 illustrates a series of fourcode blocks that can be data code blocks or parity code blocks. Here,two code blocks (e.g., Blocks 2 and 3) out of the four code blocks areunrecoverable even with FEC and ULPE coding methodologies. The effect ofthe blockage spans at least a portion of each of the four code blocks.However, because the beginning of the blockage starts near the end oftransmission of Block 1, the received signal strength throughouttransmission of Block 1 is still within the SNR threshold value of −2dB, and the receiver can still recover the entire Block 1. Once thereceived signal strength dips below the threshold value of −2 dB,however, reception may be impaired, for example, if the receiver cannotconverge on a codeword that corresponds to the Block 2 (e.g., signalsthe beginning of Block 2), or if FEC coding and the ULPE coding do noteffectively correct for errors in symbols received.

In diagram 138, two blocks in the sequence of four are corrupted. Thereceiver can use the process shown in FIG. 1B to assess whether changesto the communication properties should be made. Following the stepsshown in the process 101, the receiver uses the nature of the framestructure to assess the communication efficiency. If the frame includesonly the blocks shown (e.g., three data blocks and one parity block),then the number of corrupted blocks per frame, E, is 2, and the numberof parity blocks per frame, D, is 1. The receiver would determine that,because E>D, then the current modulation and/or coding parameters aretoo aggressive and should be adjusted if possible to provide betterrobustness to interference even if a reduction in throughput results.The condition of E>D indicates that there are one or more corrupted codeblocks for which there is no corresponding parity code block that can beused to recover the corrupted data. As a result, the process shown inFIG. 1B can be used to shift to lower throughput with higher link margin(e.g., a lower code rate and/or a lower-order modulation) to reduce theeffect of the periodic blockages on reception.

Depending on the frame structure and blockage characteristics, in somesituations the blockage shown in diagram 138 may not require anyadjustment or may allow for higher throughput communication. As ananother example, the sequence of code blocks in diagram 138 may be partof a larger frame structure, e.g., as only four blocks out of a framestructure with 8 data blocks and 4 parity blocks, and the blockageinterval can be long enough that only a single blockage instance occursin this frame. In this situation, the number of corrupted blocks perframe E=2 remains the same as the previous example, but the number ofparity blocks per frame D=4 is higher. In this case, E<D, whichindicates that there is more than a sufficient number of parity blocksto correct for the corrupted blocks. As a result, the receiver candetermine to use communication parameters with higher throughput andlower link margin (e.g., higher code rate, higher-order modulation) andrely on the correction provided by the parity blocks to remedy errorsthat occur. Over multiple cycles of assessment and parameter updates,the receiver and the rest of the system can incrementally adjust themodulation and coding to coordinate use of progressivelyhigher-throughput communication parameters, until the four blocks arecorrupted per frame, e.g., E=D.

As a final example, if the scenario in diagram 138 represents part of aframe structure with 6 data blocks and two parity blocks, and blockageinstances are spaced apart so that only a single blockage event occursper frame, then the number of corrupted blocks per frame and the numberof parity blocks per frame are equal, e.g., E=D. In this case, thesystem maintains the current communication parameters.

FIG. 2A is a diagram that illustrates example components fortransmission and reception of data in spite of periodic blockages. Inparticular, FIG. 2A illustrates a line of communication 233 between asatellite 205 and a terminal 212 of the helicopter 210 and communicationparameters 216 for transmitting code blocks between the satellite 205and the terminal 212 of the helicopter 210. The satellite 205 and theterminal 212 can communicate with each other along the line ofcommunication 233, which may be periodically intersected by the blades231 of the helicopter 210 at a particular incident angle 214. In thisparticular example, the communication parameters 216 can include ULPEparameters, including a ULPE code rate of 3/4, e.g., three rows of dataand one row of parity data, an interleaver dimension of three columnsand four rows, and a modulation scheme of 8-PSK. In the example, theterminal 212 in the helicopter 210 determines that the number ofcorrupted blocks per frame (e.g., E=2) is less than the number of parityblocks per frame (e.g., D=3). As a result the terminal 212 determinesthat more aggressive coding or modulation is appropriate, to increasethroughput while remaining within a level of errors that can becorrected. The terminal 212 communicates with the satellite 205 andgateway to coordinate usage of the higher-throughput communicationparameters.

There are many ways that a terminal or gateway can selecthigher-throughput or lower-throughput parameters as needed. For example,the terminal 212 can store a table that lists different coding options,e.g., coding schemes that respectively provide code rates of 1/2, 2/3,3/4, 4/5, 7/8, and so on. In some implementations, the different coderates can be implemented with different interleaver dimensions, e.g.,different ratios of data code blocks to parity code blocks. Other typesof coding may alternatively be used. The coding options can be orderedin the table for incremental differences. For example, for a given entryin the table, the previous entry can represent a coding option with anincrementally lower code rate, and the following entry can represent acoding option with an incrementally higher code rate. Similarly, thecode rates or other efficiency measures can be provided for differentcoding options. As a result, when the terminal 212 determines that ahigher code rate is appropriate, the terminal 212 can look up and usethe coding scheme in the next entry in the table (e.g., if entry 3 werebeing used, then the coding scheme in entry 4 can be selected).Similarly, when the terminal 212 determines that a lower code rate isappropriate, the terminal 212 can look up and use the coding scheme inthe previous entry in the table (e.g., if entry 3 were being used, thenthe coding scheme in entry 2 can be selected). When the first or lastentry of the table (e.g., the lowest or highest code rate option) isbeing used and a change in robustness or efficiency is still needed,then the system can change modulation instead.

The terminal 212 can also store a table of the different modulationoptions that are available, and can change through them in a similarmanner. When the terminal 212 determines that a higher-order modulationis appropriate (e.g., more bits per symbol), the terminal 212 can usethe table of modulations to look up the modulation in the subsequententry in the table (e.g., if entry 4 were being used, then themodulation in entry 5 can be selected). This change in modulation can beaccompanied by a change in code rate, for example, to couple an increasein modulation with a decrease in code rate, which may then beprogressively incremented over future cycles if conditions remainfavorable. When the terminal 212 determines that a lower-ordermodulation is appropriate (e.g., fewer bits per symbol), the terminal212 can use the table of modulations to look up the modulation in theprevious entry in the table (e.g., if entry 4 were being used, then themodulation in entry 3 can be selected). This change in modulation can beaccompanied by a change in code rate, for example, to couple a decreasein modulation with an increase in code rate to more smoothly transitionthe throughput, rather than using the decreased order of modulation withthe lowest code rate, which may be too conservative for the conditionspresent.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the terminal 212 of the helicopter 210 hascoordinated a change in communication parameters to improve throughput.Based on the analysis of the rate of corrupted blocks, the communicationparameters 216 change to communication parameters 217 with a differentcoding scheme. The modulation scheme remains the same. Instead of usinga 3/4 code rate for ULPE blocks, however, the system adjusts the codingto use a 7/8 code rate. In the 7/8 code rate, which is higher than the3/4 code rate, seven rows of data are included with one row of paritybits, and the interleaver dimensions change to include more rows, e.g.,eight rather than four. Other adjustments can be made according to theprocess shown in FIG. 1B.

FIGS. 3A-3D show examples of Gray coding for various symbolconstellations, each representing example of a modulation scheme thatcan be used in satellite communications discussed herein. The system canadaptively change between these different modulations using thetechniques discussed above.

In general, the probability of demodulating a symbol to an incorrectneighboring symbol increases as signal to noise ratio (S/N) decreases.Gray coding helps to limit the impact of a symbol error to a single biterror. For bit-oriented inner codes such as LDPC, this benefit isparticularly helpful. Due to the fluctuation of SNR in a mobileenvironment, a link margin of 2-3 dB is typically employed to provide amargin to limit effects of instantaneous multipath fading. FIGS. 3A and3B show Gray-coded constellations for QPSK and 8-PSK, respectively,which are both modulations with constant amplitude at the samplingpoint, and so they are not sensitive to amplitude fades.

FIG. 3A shows a symbol constellation 300 that illustrates an exampleGray coding for a QPSK modulation scheme. QPSK provides two bits ofinformation per symbol, and a shown the symbols include “00,” “10,”“11,” and “01”. With an error correction-coding scheme as discussedabove, the Gray-coded QPSK may be appropriate for use when SNR is, forexample, below 5 or 6 dB.

FIG. 3B illustrates a symbol constellation 301 that illustrates anexample Gray coding for an 8-PSK modulation scheme. 8-PSK provides threebits of information per symbol. For example, the 8 symbols can bearranged in an order “000,” “100,” “101,” “111,” “110,” “010,” “011,”and “001”. As an example, Gray-coded 8-PSK may be appropriate for usewhen, for example, SNR is between about 5-9 dB.

In some cases, when the received SNR is above 8 dB, the receiver canincrease the modulation scheme to 16-ary modulation (e.g., 16 totalsymbols, with four bits per symbol) or higher.

FIG. 3C illustrates a symbol constellation 303 with Gray coding for an8+8-PSK modulation scheme providing four bits per symbol. In many cases,16-ary modulation, such as 16-QAM or 4+12-APSK, is more sensitive toamplitude fades than 8-ary modulation. In many cases, automatic gaincontrol (AGC) cannot adjust sufficiently fast to track errors. 8+8-APSKcan offer improved performance in the additive white Gaussian noise(AWGN) channel than 4+12-APSK when the SNR is below about 10 dB.However, Gray-coded 8+8-APSK scheme is even more robust to amplitudefades than typical 4+12-APSK, because the difference between demodulatedsymbols between the outer and inner ring is only 1 bit. At the onset ofa blockage period, the transmitted symbols can be most likely corruptedby reduced signal strength due to fading, while the corruption in signalphase is a much weaker secondary effect. For a two-ring signalconstellation such as 8+8-APSK, it is more likely that the receiver willmake an amplitude error rather than a phase error. Gray coding is aneffective way to take advantage of this property. For example, the bitused to select between the two 8-symbol rings can be specified byamplitude, which can have the effect of isolating the most likely errorfrom signal fade due to the periodic blockage to the bit correspondingto the ring selection.

Gray labeling typically results in better soft-decision input to forwarderror correction decoder on bit probabilities. Additionally, the bitmapping of 8+8-APSK can be constructed from a Gray coded 8-PSK, byadding an extra bit (e.g., the value at the far left in the example)that differentiates the inner and outer rings. For example, the outerring shows a “1” as the far left of each label, while the inner ringshows a “0” at the far left of each label. The 8 symbols of the innerring can include, in order around the ring, “0000,” “0100,” “0101,”“0111,” “0110,” “0010,” “0011,” and “0001”. The 8 symbols of the outerring can include, in order around the ring, “1000,” “1100,” “1101,”“1111,” “1110,” “1010,” “1011,” and “1001”.

FIG. 3D shows a symbol constellation 305 for a Gray-coded 8+8+16-APSKmodulation scheme, providing five bits per symbol. The techniquediscussed above for 16-ary modulation can be extended to 32-arymodulation with 8+8+8+8-APSK (4×8 APSK), for which two bits out of fivebits of a symbol is selected by signal amplitude, or 16+16 APSK (2×16APSK), for which one bit out of five bits of a symbol is selected by theamplitude. The 8+8+8+8 APSK and 16+16 APSK constellations can be Graycoded perfectly. 8+8+8+8 APSK can work well for highly linear channels,while the 16+16 APSK may work better for highly nonlinear channels. Inpractice, 32-ary modulation has shown good performance for SNR values inthe range of about 10 to 11.5 dB range.

Unlike other 32-APSK modulations, the 8+8+16-APSK is a variation of32-APSK that is specially optimized for channels with amplitude fade inmoderate channel nonlinearity. At higher SNR, 8+8+16-APSK can offer somerobustness against amplitude fading. For example, a particular bit isused to differentiate the outer ring (e.g., on which all symbols havethe left-most value of “1”) from the middle and inner rings (e.g., onwhich all symbols have the left-most value as “0”). The arrangement alsoprovides Gray coding between the rings, so that for a given phaseposition that is a multiple of π/4, there is a difference of only onebit between the symbols of adjacent rings at that position. In the innerring and the middle ring, values are Gray coded along the ring so thateach symbol differs from adjacent symbols on the ring by only one bit.The symbols around the outer ring are not perfectly Gray coded, but canstill be arranged so that the difference between adjacent symbols is nomore than two bits (and in some cases is only one bit). The symbols ofthe outer ring can be aligned with symbols of the middle ring, so thatthe symbols with the same phase position are differentiated by the mostsignificant bit (e.g., “1” for the left-most bit on the outer ring, and“0” for the left-most bit on symbols on the middle ring). Similarly,symbols of the middle ring can be aligned the adjacent constellationpoints of the inner ring so they differ only in the second-mostsignificant bit (e.g., on the middle ring all symbols have “1” as thebit second from the left, and on the inner ring all symbols have “0” asthe bit second from the left). The other 8 symbols of the outer ring(which are shaded and begin with “11”) can be aligned with and share thesame three-bit end portion as the symbols of the middle ring, but can beplaced with and additional π/8 phase offset from the phase position ofthe corresponding symbol in the middle ring. For example, at phaseposition π/4, the values for the inner ring, middle ring, and outer ringare respectively “01010,” “00010,” and “10010” and so share the samethree-bit end portion, while the initial two bits differ in a Gray codemanner from one ring to the next. The other symbol that ends with thesame “010” end portion is placed at a π/8 offset, so that the symbol“11010” is placed on the outer ring at phase position 3π/8. This doesnot provide a perfect Gray coding along the outer ring, e.g., thedifference between the symbols at 3π/8 (“11010”) and at π/2 (“10011”) istwo bits not one. Nonetheless, the 8+8+16 APSK arrangement can providesignificant improvement in reception over conventional 32-APSKespecially in the presence periodic blockages such as those caused byhelicopter blades.

The arrangement shown in FIG. 3D has several significant properties,discussed in more detail below, that can help improve robustness ofreception, especially in the presence of periodic blockages. Theconstellation 305 provides a multi-bit gray code sequence for changes inamplitude, shown in the example by the change in the first two bits whencrossing from one ring to the next. The constellation 305 also shows amulti-bit gray code for changes in phase, shown in the example by thegray code sequence used to define the last three bits of each symbol.The same gray code sequence is used for each of the rings, although onthe outer ring each three-bit value in the sequence is used twice (e.g.,is repeated with an adjacent symbol at a π/8 offset). The constellation305 makes use of different ring sizes (two rings of 8 symbols and one of16 symbols).

To define the values of the symbols, starting with the inner-most ring,the three least-significant bits (or three right-most bits) of eachsymbol in the inner-most ring can be labeled with a Gray code sequence,such as 000, 010, 011, 111, 110, 100, 101, and 101, e.g., starting atthe zero phase position (e.g., “01000” on the inner ring) and movingcounterclockwise. Thus, each symbol on the inner ring differs from theprevious symbol by only 1 bit, and no symbol is repeated. Next, themiddle ring includes eight symbols, each symbol includes the same leastthree significant bits or three right-most bits as the most inner ringthat is in the same phase position. For the outer ring, the symbols thatare aligned at the same phase positions as those of the middle ringinclude the same least three significant bits or three right-most bits.Then, a two-bit prefix is applied to each symbol on each ring. The innerring's two-bit prefix is “01,” the middle ring's two-bit prefix is “00,”and the outer ring's two-bit prefix is “10.” These prefixes are Graycoded so that each ring's prefix differs by one bit from the prefix ofany adjacent ring. In the outer-most ring, the other symbols that arenot aligned in phase with the symbols of the middle ring (e.g., theshaded constellation points) are assigned a prefix of “11.” In thesesymbols on the outer ring, the three least significant bits are the sameas the next symbol on the outer ring, moving counter-clockwise along theouter ring. For example, symbol “11011” at phase 5π/8 in the outer ringhas a final three bits that match those of the symbol “10011” on theouter ring at phase position π/2. However, the presence of 8 shadedsymbols in the outer-ring that are not in phase with the middle ring'ssymbols (e.g., not aligned at phase positions that are multiples of π/4)mean that the symbols along the outer ring are not perfectly Gray coded.Consequently, an error with one of these 8 symbols can potentially causea two-bit error: a one bit error in the prefix and another bit error inthe least significant bit.

In further detail, the 8+8+16-APSK modulation scheme provides five bitsof information per symbol. For example, the 8 symbols of innermost ringof the diagram 305 can include, in sequence counterclockwise, “01000,”“01001,” “01101,” “01100,” “01110,” “01111,” “01011,” and “01010.” The 8symbols of the middle ring of the diagram 305 can include, in sequencecounterclockwise, “00000,” “00001,” “00101,” “00100,” “00110,” “00111,”“01011,” and “00010”. The 16 symbols of the outer-most ring of thediagram 305 can include, in sequence counterclockwise, “10000,” “11001,”“10001,” “11101,” “10101,” “11100,” “10100,” “11110,” “10110,” “11111,”“10111,” “11011,” “10011,” “11010,” “10010,” and “11000”.

The symbol constellation 305 can be generated in the following manner orwith the following properties. Each of the 32 five-bit symbols is formedof a first portion, a two-bit prefix, and a second portion, a three-bitvalue. The two-bit prefix is set based on the ring in which the symbolis located. The three-bit value is based on a Gray code sequence and thevalue from the Gray code sequence depends on the phase position aroundthe ring. This technique allows for Gray coding across multipledimensions or transmission characteristics. For example, there is Graycoding for phase so that, at least for the inner ring and middle ring,adjacent symbols in the ring differ by only one bit. In addition, thereis Gray coding for amplitude (e.g., across rings) so that symbols thathave the same phase and are adjacent in amplitude differ by only onebit. As discussed below, there are some symbols in the outer ring thatdo not follow this relationship (shown in shaded circles). Instead, theshaded symbols have phase positions that are not multiples of π/4 and sodo not align with the phase positions of any symbols in the inner andmiddle rings. The shaded symbols are not perfectly Gray coded withrespect to the adjacent symbols in the outer ring, but the values areassigned so that each of the symbols in the outer ring differs from theadjacent symbols around the outer ring by no more than two bits.

In the example constellation 305, the same Gray-code sequence is usedfor each of the three rings, e.g., 000, 010, 011, 111, 110, 100, 101,and 101. The values are aligned with phase positions so that the samethree-bit value is used at the same phase position across each of therings, at least for phase positions that are multiples of π/4 and so arecommon to all three rings. For example, for each of the three rings, thesymbol at a phase of zero has the three-bit end portion of “000” (e.g.,from symbols “01000, “00000,” and “10000”). Similarly, at the π/4position, each symbol has the same three-bit end portion of “010” (e.g.,from symbols “01010,” “00010,” and “10010”). This relationship holds forthe other phase positions that are multiples of π/4. The alignment ofthe values in this manner helps minimize the effect of amplitudevariation on the error rate. For example, when a symbol is from one ofthe phase positions that is a multiple of π/4 (e.g., symbols shown ascircles without shading), noise or interference that affects amplitude(and so may place a received symbol on the wrong ring) does not affectthe three-bit end portion, since the three-bit end portion will be thesame regardless of which amplitude level (e.g., which ring) the receiverselects.

The initial two-bit prefixes also help increase the likelihood ofsuccessful reception. Symbols on the inner ring share the same two-bitprefix, and symbols on the middle ring also share a same two-bit prefix.For example, all of the symbols on the inner ring begin with the two-bitprefix “01,” and all of the symbols on the middle ring begin with thetwo-bit prefix “00.” This provides strong robustness for the initial twobits for variation in phase. The symbols for the outer ring each haveone of two different prefixes, “10” and “11.” Moving around the outerring, the symbols alternate between starting with the “01” prefix andthe “11” prefix. The symbols beginning with the “10” prefix are alignedwith the phase positions that are multiples of π/8, the same phasepositions where the symbols for the inner ring and middle ring arelocated. This results in 24 of the 32 symbols being aligned with Graycoding both for changes in amplitude (e.g., switching from one ring tothe next) and for changes in phase (e.g., moving around a ring). Inother words, for each of the π/4 phase positions, the same three-bit endportion is used across all three rings, while the two-bit prefixesdiffer by only one bit. If there is amplitude variation that results inreception on the wrong ring, the Gray coding among the two-bit prefixes(e.g., “01” to “00” from inner ring to middle ring, and “00” to “10” forthe outer ring) generally limits the error to one bit, which the systemcan correct using the upper layer protocol and LDPC coding.

On the outer ring, the shaded symbols represent symbols at phasepositions that are not multiples of π/4, e.g., phase positions of π/8,3π/8, 5π/8, 7π/8, 9π/8, 11π/8, 13π/8, and 15π/8. Each of the shadedsymbols has a prefix of “11” and on either side the adjacent symbol onthe outer ring has a prefix of “10.” As a result, the potential errorbetween the prefix portions of adjacent symbols in the outer ring islimited to only one bit. The values of the three-bit end portion arealso set to minimize the potential error if confused with an adjacentsymbol. For each of the shaded symbols, one of the adjacent symbols inthe ring shares the same three-bit end portion. For example, forposition π/8 (e.g., symbol “11000”), the three-bit end portion of “000”is the same as the three-bit end portion of the adjacent symbol at aphase position of zero (e.g., symbol “10000”). Thus, there is only aone-bit overall difference between the five bits of each shaded symboland the adjacent symbol around the ring in a clockwise direction. In theopposite direction around the outer ring (e.g., counterclockwise), thethree-bit end portion for a symbol differs by only one bit from theadjacent symbol. For example, for the position π/8 (e.g., symbol“11000”), the three-bit end portion of “000” differs by only one bitfrom the three-bit end portion “010” of the adjacent symbol at a phaseposition of π/4 (e.g., symbol “10010”). Thus, the worst-case error whenincorrectly receiving an adjacent symbol along the outer ring is twobits of error, a one-bit error in the two-bit prefix and another one-biterror in the three-bit end portion. The situation is improved becausethe arrangement of symbols can further help localize the bit errorwithin the three-bit end portion. For example, even if the symbol atposition π/8 is erroneously received as an adjacent symbol on theconstellation, or even as a symbol two symbols in either direction, themiddle bit in the sequence would still be correctly received as “0.” Asa result, a receiver can be designed to take into account theserelationships and the likelihood of bit errors at different positionsfor different received symbols and under different conditions, to bettermanage and correct for errors that may occur.

The alignment of the symbols using a same Gray code sequence shared bythe rings and further using another Gray code sequence between the ringsprovides a number of benefits. First, in both the inner ring and middlering, phase error resulting in erroneous reception of an adjacent symbolon the correct ring results in only a single-bit error, which the upperlayer protocol and LDPC coding can correct. In addition, the alignmentof the rings by phase position helps limits amplitude error to a singlebit error, at least for each of the π/4 phase positions where the lastthree bits are the same across all of the rings.

While the arrangement of constellation 305 does not provide a full graycoding in the outer ring, the advantage of providing five bits persymbol with only three amplitude levels (e.g., rings) can besignificant. For example, adding a fourth ring may increase thecomplexity of reception, and may also further increase the sensitivityof reception to amplitude variation, which can be a significant issuedue to periodic blockages such as those caused by helicopter blades. Insituations where the amplitude variation is not a significant concern,then an alternative would be to use four rings of eight symbols each,each ring sharing the same three-bit Gray coded sequence for thethree-bit end portion, so that the same three-bit value is use at thesame phase position for each of the rings. A true Gray code sequence canbe for the two-bit prefixes across four different rings, e.g., “01,”“00,” “10,” “11,” so that the prefix for each ring differs by only onebit from the prefix for each adjacent ring.

While the constellation 305 divides the symbols into two sections, atwo-bit prefix and a three-bit portion, this arrangement is notrequired. The bits that change based on phase or amplitude can be placedin other arrangements, may be interspersed together, etc.

Communication devices can be configured to transmit and receive dataaccording to any or all of the symbol constellations shown in FIG. 3A-3Das well as others. Transmitters can be configured (e.g., programmed) tomodulate a carrier using the symbol assignments using any of the varioussymbol constellations, and to switch between modulations using thetechniques discussed above. Similarly, receivers can be configured(e.g., programmed) to receive and demodulate transmitted signalsmodulated based on these constellations. Receivers can be configured toswitch between demodulating according to different modulation schemes asdiscussed above.

FIG. 4 is a table 400 that illustrates an example modulation selectionbased on received a signal to noise ratio (SNR). The table 400illustrates the ranking of modulation schemes from lower order (andlower information density) at the left to higher order (and higherinformation density) to the right. In other words, QPSK is the lowestorder modulation in this table, and 8+8+16-APSK is the highest ordermodulation.

The table 400 shows example SNR values, as well as values of SNR pluslink margin, to represent the conditions in which these modulations aretypically used included. The link margin in the example of FIG. 4 for“S/N with Margin” is 3 dB. Other link margins may be used. While themodulations are shown with SNR ranges for reference, the actualselection of a modulation by the system need not be based on, or atleast not entirely on, the SNR measured. As discussed above, thedecision whether to switch to a higher or lower order modulation can bebased on the number of corrupted or not fully recoverable code blocks ina frame, and this analysis can be used to determine whether to changefrom the current modulation to a different modulation. In someimplementations, the SNR of a terminal may be compared with SNRreference ranges as illustrated to determine an initial modulation touse. In some cases, reference SNR ranges may provide a boundary orthreshold that limits a terminal to using certain modulations only whencertain SNR conditions are present. Nevertheless, in otherimplementations, the terminal can adjust the modulation independent ofthe current SNR calculated the terminal, instead making incrementaladjustments to modulation based on the amount of code blocks that arecorrupted or unrecoverable per frame. This can help ensure that theterminal obtains the maximum throughput available, adaptively shiftingmodulation to a higher or lower order as conditions change, even if thishas the consequence of eliminating the link margin typically present andoperates at or near the minimum threshold SNR needed for reception.

A receiver in the helicopter, for example, can store data that lists thedifferent modulations available and the relationships between them,e.g., a ranking or ordering of the modulations according to theirrelative robustness to low SNR or amplitude fading. For example, thereceiver can refer to the table 400 or a similar table when determiningwhether a higher or lower-order modulation is available. When thereceiver performs the process illustrated in FIG. 1B, the receivercompares the number of corrupted blocks per frame with the number ofparity blocks per frame. Based on this comparison, the receiver candecide to increase an order of the modulation scheme (e.g., from 8-PSKto 8+8-APSK) if the number of error blocks is less than the number ofdesignated parity blocks, or to decrease an order of the modulationscheme (e.g., from 8-PSK to QPSK) if the number of error blocks isgreater than the number of designated parity blocks.

When signal strength is high, higher throughput can be achieved by usinghigher-order modulation with appropriate FEC code rate, whilemaintaining a reasonable link margin (e.g. 3 dB) as shown by table 400.In some implementations, the selection of a modulation can be based onthe measured SNR (in some cases, as the SNR excluding the impact ofhelicopter blade blockages). A change in modulation may also change thevalue of N discussed with respect to FIG. 1B. The value N represents theamount of time needed to send one frame, and increasing to ahigher-order of modulation means it would take less time to send eachcode block (e.g., given the same data length per code block, theduration needed to transmit the code block may change as modulationvaries). With appropriate modulation switching, throughput can increaseswith higher SNR at a rate of roughly 8% increased throughput per dB ofincreased SNR. In many cases, it may be beneficial to reduce the linkmargin that is maintained in the system and instead use ahigher-throughput modulation and coding combination that is usesspectrum resources (e.g., time on a given frequency channel) moreefficiently.

In some implementations, the algorithm for modulation selection canstart with a conservative link margin, such as 3 dB, and can set theinitial modulation and coding that matches the calculated SNR of theterminal. For example, if the terminal has an SNR of 10 dB, the terminalcan look up in the table 400 which modulation is mapped to the “SNR withMargin” range that includes this value. In this example, the identifiedmodulation would be 8-PSK, since the measured value of 10 dB isdetermined to be in the range of 8-12 dB assigned to 8-PSK in the table400. The terminal can also determine the number of parity blocks neededto cover an entire blockage period taking account for the asynchronousrelationship between blade rotation and parity code block boundaries.The terminal can use this information to set or adjust the framestructure and interleaver size.

As illustrated in table 400, the receiver determines that the SNR isless than or equal to 5 dB, then receiver can determine that modulationof QPSK should be used by the transmitter. If the receiver determinesthat the SNR is between 5 to 9 dB, then receiver can determine that thetransmitter should use 8-PSK. If the receiver determines that the SNR isbetween 9 to 10 dB, then receiver can determine that the transmittershould use a modulation of 8+8-APSK. If the receiver determines that theSNR is greater than 10 dB, then receiver can determine that thetransmitter should use a modulation of 8+8+16-APSK.

With a link margin of 3 dB factored in (e.g., the “SNR with Margin”),the receiver can make similar determinations about which modulationscheme to use. For example, the receiver determines that the SNR is lessthan or equal to 8 dB, then receiver can determine that modulation ofQPSK should be used by the transmitter. If the receiver determines thatthe SNR is between 8 to 12 dB, then receiver can determine that thetransmitter should use 8-PSK. If the receiver determines that the SNR isbetween 12 to 13 dB, then receiver can determine that the transmittershould use a modulation of 8+8-APSK. If the receiver determines that theSNR is greater than 13 dB, then receiver can determine that thetransmitter should use a modulation of 8+8+16-APSK.

Once reliable reception is established is established using theinitially-selected modulation and coding, the receiver can determine ifthe link margin is excessive by counting the number of corrupted orerased code blocks, E, in a period, N, that is the duration of oneframe. If the maximum number of corrupted or erased code blocks (e.g.,maximum value of E over multiple frames, such as over a second or othertime period) is at least one less than the designed erasure correctioncapability in the frame structure (e.g., if E<D, the number of parityblocks), then the receiver can request to move to a higher inner coderate, e.g., code rate for coding within an individual code block.Conversely, if E>D, the receiver can request to move to a lower innercode rate. From this point, as the connection continues, the settingsfor modulations and codings can be adjusted incrementally, and themodulation used and code rate used may diverge from those indicated inthe table 400. Using the value if E, however, the receiver, and thesystem as a whole, can maintain the level of errors to the level that istypically correctable by the receiver using the inner code block FECcoding and the UPLE parity blocks.

As the receiver continues to receive transmissions, the receiver detectsinner code block errors (e.g., errors in the data within a data codeblock) and the receiver corrects the errors using error correctiontechniques such as a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) of the decodedinformation or using the parity check equations of the inner code. Aftermoving to the higher code rate, if the number of corrupted or erasedcode blocks at some point exceeds the designed value (e.g., if E>D), theterminal can request to move back to the previous inner code rate. Thissignals that the maximum throughput capability available under currentconditions has been achieved. Otherwise, while the number of corruptedor erased code blocks is less than the number of parity code blocks(e.g., if E<D), the receiver can progressively move to even higher coderates.

When the terminal detects that it becomes more efficient to use ahigher-order modulation of lower code rate to achieve throughput, asimilar iterative procedure can be used to request a higher-ordermodulation, using a value of N (e.g., frame transmission duration)appropriate for the higher-order modulation and a new code rate. In theanalysis, some hysteresis may be introduced to ensure the changes arerelatively stable, e.g., performed without too frequently switchingbetween code rates and/or modulations. As another example, the systemmay look at frames in a certain window (e.g., the previous 20 frames, orall frames in the previous 1 second of reception).

In further detail, for example, the decision whether to alter coding ormodulation can limited to be made at certain intervals, such as once persecond, once every 5 seconds, once every 15 seconds, etc. Changes thatdecrease code rate or decrease the order of modulation may be permittedmore frequently or without restriction in timing or frequency, to enablepoor conditions to be addressed quickly. In addition, when the analysisis performed, the system can look at multiple previous frames ratherthan a single one. For example, the system may be compare E and D foreach of the preceding 10 frames, 50 frames, 100 frames, etc., or maycompare E and D for all frames in the preceding 1 second, 5 seconds,etc.

The system may require that at least a minimum threshold of the framesin the analyzed group of frames have the same comparison result in orderto justify making a change that increases code rate or modulationdensity. For example, a threshold of 70% may be set for changes thatincrease throughput and require higher SNR, and the analyzed group canbe the last 10 frames. If in a group there are 5 frames have thecondition E=D and five frames have the condition that E<D, then theterminal would not change the modulation and coding because thethreshold was not met. On the other hand, if 8 out of 10 previous framesshowed E<D, then the threshold would be met and the terminal wouldincrease code rate or adjust modulation to improve throughput. Otherthresholds can be used, for example, a strict threshold of 100% may berequired to improve throughput in some cases. As another example, athreshold can be set for taking actions that decrease throughput anddecrease the required SNR (e.g., lower code rate, shift to a lower-ordermodulation). The threshold may be the same as the threshold forincreasing throughput, or may be different, such as being much lower,e.g., 30%. Thus, if at least 3 of the last 10 frames show that E>D, thenthe terminal can make a change to reduce code rate, and thus increasereliability of the connection.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram that illustrates an example of a process 500for improving communication in a satellite environment despite aperiodic blockage in a communication link. A receiver can receive, froma transmitter, code blocks transmitted on a communication channelaccording to a first set of communication parameters that comprises oneor more of a first modulation used to transmit the code blocks or afirst coding used to encode information in the code blocks fortransmission (502). The receiver can determine a number of corruptedcode blocks in a series of the code blocks received (504). The receivercan determine a number of parity blocks in the series of code blocks(506). The receiver can compare the number of corrupted code blocks inthe series of code blocks with the number of parity blocks in the seriesof code blocks (508). The receiver can determine a second set ofcommunication parameters for communication between the transmitter andthe receiver based on the comparison of the number of corrupted codeblocks in the series of code blocks with the number of parity blocks inthe series of code blocks (510). The receiver can communicate the secondset of communication parameters to the transmitter for subsequenttransmissions by the transmitter to the receiver (512).

Various implementations of the systems and techniques described here canbe realized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially designed ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations can include implementation in one or morecomputer programs that are executable and/or interpretable on aprogrammable system including at least one programmable processor, whichmay be special or general purpose, coupled to receive data andinstructions from, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storagesystem, at least one input device, and at least one output device.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms machine-readable medium andcomputer-readable medium refer to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.The term machine-readable signal refers to any signal used to providemachine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), and the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

Although a few implementations have been described in detail above,other modifications are possible. For example, while a clientapplication is described as accessing the delegate(s), in otherimplementations the delegate(s) may be employed by other applicationsimplemented by one or more processors, such as an application executingon one or more servers. In addition, the logic flows depicted in thefigures do not require the particular order shown, or sequential order,to achieve desirable results. In addition, other actions may beprovided, or actions may be eliminated, from the described flows, andother components may be added to, or removed from, the describedsystems. Accordingly, other implementations are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinvention or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures that may be specific to particular embodiments of particularinventions. Certain features that are described in this specification inthe context of separate embodiments can also be implemented incombination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features thatare described in the context of a single embodiment can also beimplemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitablesubcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above asacting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, oneor more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excisedfrom the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a sub combination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system modulesand components in the embodiments described above should not beunderstood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and itshould be understood that the described program components and systemscan generally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results. As one example, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a receiver andfrom a transmitter, code blocks transmitted on a communication channelaccording to a first set of communication parameters that comprises oneor more of a first modulation used to transmit the code blocks or afirst coding used to encode information in the code blocks fortransmission; determining, by the receiver, a number of corrupted codeblocks in a series of the code blocks received by the receiver;determining, by the receiver, a number of parity blocks in the series ofcode blocks; comparing, by the receiver, the number of corrupted codeblocks in the series of code blocks with the number of parity blocks inthe series of code blocks; selecting, by the receiver, a second set ofcommunication parameters for communication between the transmitter andthe receiver, wherein the second set of communication parameters isselected from a set of modulations and/or codings, and wherein thesecond set of communication parameters is selected based on a result ofcomparing of the number of corrupted code blocks in the series of codeblocks with the number of parity blocks in the series of code blocks;and communicating, by the receiver and to the transmitter, the secondset of communication parameters for subsequent transmissions by thetransmitter to the receiver.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the codeblocks are encoded using low-density-parity-check (LPDC) coding; andwherein the second set of communication parameters includes a secondmodulation that is different from the first modulation, wherein thefirst modulation and the second modulation are each one of QPSK, 8-PSK,8+8 APSK, or 8+8+16 APSK.
 3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:determining, by the receiver and based on the determined number ofcorrupted code blocks, characteristics of a periodic blockage of thecommunication channel between the transmitter and the receiver, thecharacteristics comprising (i) a blockage duration indicative of aduration of the blockage and (ii) a blockage interval indicative of aperiod of time from a beginning of a blockage event to a beginning of anext blockage event, wherein the second set of communication parametersis selected based on the determined characteristics of the periodicblockage of the communication channel between the transmitter and thereceiver.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein: the transmitter is atransmitter of a satellite, and wherein the receiver is mounted on ahelicopter that is in flight, and the receiver is oriented tocommunicate with the transmitter along a path such that the periodicblockage is caused by rotation of rotor of the helicopter periodicallyblocking the path between the receiver and the transmitter.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein selecting the second set of communicationparameters comprises: determining, by the receiver and based on thecomparison, that the number of corrupted code blocks is less than thenumber of parity blocks; and in response to determining that the numberof corrupted code blocks is less than the number of parity blocks,selecting, by the receiver, the second set of communication parametersto include a second coding that provides a higher code rate than thefirst coding.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein determining selectingthe second set of communication parameters comprises: determining, bythe receiver and based on the comparison, that the number of corruptedcode blocks is less than the number of parity blocks; determining, bythe receiver, that a set of codings available for communication betweenthe transmitter and receiver does not include a coding with a code rategreater than a code rate of the first coding of the first communicationparameters; and in response to determining (i) that the number ofcorrupted code blocks is less than the number of parity blocks and (ii)that the set of codings available for communication between thetransmitter and receiver does not include a coding with a code rategreater than a code rate of the first coding of the first communicationparameters, selecting, by the receiver, the second set of communicationparameters to include a second modulation that provides higherthroughput than the first modulation.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinselecting the second set of communication parameters for communicationbetween the transmitter and the receiver further comprises: determining,by the receiver, a channel quality measure that indicates a condition ofthe communication channel; and selecting, by the receiver, the secondset of communication parameters based on the determined channel qualitymeasure, wherein the receiver stores data that identifies differentcommunication parameters and different values or ranges of channelquality measures that correspond to the different communicationparameters, and wherein at least one communication parameter in thesecond set of communication parameters is selected based on determiningthat the determined channel quality measure corresponds to the value orrange of channel quality measures that the stored data indicates ascorresponding to the at least one communication parameter.
 8. A systemcomprising: one or more processors and one or more machine-readablestorage devices storing instructions that are operable, when executed bythe one or more processors, to cause the system to perform operationscomprising: receiving, by a receiver and from a transmitter, code blockstransmitted on a communication channel according to a first set ofcommunication parameters that comprises one or more of a firstmodulation used to transmit the code blocks or a first coding used toencode information in the code blocks for transmission; determining, bythe receiver, a number of corrupted code blocks in a series of the codeblocks received by the receiver; determining, by the receiver, a numberof parity blocks in the series of code blocks; comparing, by thereceiver, the number of corrupted code blocks in the series of codeblocks with the number of parity blocks in the series of code blocks;selecting, by the receiver, a second set of communication parameters forcommunication between the transmitter and the receiver, wherein thesecond set of communication parameters is selected from a set ofmodulations and/or codings, and wherein the second set of communicationparameters is selected based on a result of comparing of the number ofcorrupted code blocks in the series of code blocks with the number ofparity blocks in the series of code blocks; and communicating, by thereceiver and to the transmitter, the second set of communicationparameters for subsequent transmissions by the transmitter to thereceiver.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the code blocks are encodedusing low-density-parity-check (LDPC) coding; and wherein the second setof communication parameters includes a second modulation that isdifferent from the first modulation, wherein the first modulation andthe second modulation are each one of QPSK, 8-PSK, 8+8 APSK, or 8+8+16APSK.
 10. The system of claim 8, further comprising: determining, by thereceiver and based on the determined number of corrupted code blocks,characteristics of a periodic blockage of the communication channelbetween the transmitter and the receiver, the characteristics comprising(i) a blockage duration indicative of a duration of the blockage and(ii) a blockage interval indicative of a period of time from a beginningof a blockage event to a beginning of a next blockage event, wherein thesecond set of communication parameters is selected based on thedetermined characteristics of the periodic blockage of the communicationchannel between the transmitter and the receiver.
 11. The system ofclaim 10, wherein: the transmitter is a transmitter of a satellite, andwherein the receiver is mounted on a helicopter that is in flight, andthe receiver is oriented to communicate with the transmitter along apath that is periodically blocked by a rotating rotor of the helicopter.12. The system of claim 8, wherein selecting the second set ofcommunication parameters comprises: determining, by the receiver andbased on the comparison, that the number of corrupted code blocks isless than the number of parity blocks; and in response to determiningthat the number of corrupted code blocks is less than the number ofparity blocks, selecting, by the receiver, the second set ofcommunication parameters to include a second coding that provides ahigher code rate than the first coding.
 13. The system of claim 12,wherein selecting the second set of communication parameters comprises:determining, by the receiver and based on the comparison, that thenumber of corrupted code blocks is less than the number of parityblocks; determining, by the receiver, that a set of codings availablefor communication between the transmitter and receiver does not includea coding with a code rate greater than a code rate of the first codingof the first communication parameters; and in response to determining(i) that the number of corrupted code blocks is less than the number ofparity blocks and (ii) that the set of codings available forcommunication between the transmitter and receiver does not include acoding with a code rate greater than a code rate of the first coding ofthe first communication parameters, selecting, by the receiver, thesecond set of communication parameters to include a second modulationthat provides higher throughput than the first modulation.
 14. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein selecting the second set of communicationparameters for communication between the transmitter and the receiverfurther comprises: determining, by the receiver, a channel qualitymeasure that indicates a condition of the communication channel; andselecting, by the receiver, the second set of communication parametersbased on the determined channel quality measure, wherein the receiverstores data that identifies different communication parameters anddifferent values or ranges of channel quality measures that correspondto the different communication parameters, and wherein at least onecommunication parameter in the second set of communication parameters isselected based on determining that the determined channel qualitymeasure corresponds to the value or range of channel quality measuresthat the stored data indicates as corresponding to the at least onecommunication parameter.
 15. One or more non-transitory machine-readablemedia storing instructions that are operable, when executed by one ormore processors, to cause the one or more processors to performoperations comprising: receiving, by a receiver and from a transmitter,code blocks transmitted on a communication channel according to a firstset of communication parameters that comprises one or more of a firstmodulation used to transmit the code blocks or a first coding used toencode information in the code blocks for transmission; determining, bythe receiver, a number of corrupted code blocks in a series of the codeblocks received by the receiver; determining, by the receiver, a numberof parity blocks in the series of code blocks; comparing, by thereceiver, the number of corrupted code blocks in the series of codeblocks with the number of parity blocks in the series of code blocks;selecting, by the receiver, a second set of communication parameters forcommunication between the transmitter and the receiver, wherein thesecond set of communication parameters is selected from a set ofmodulations and/or encodings, and wherein the second set ofcommunication parameters is based on a result of the comparison of thenumber of corrupted code blocks in the series of code blocks with thenumber of parity blocks in the series of code blocks; and communicating,by the receiver and to the transmitter, the second set of communicationparameters for subsequent transmissions by the transmitter to thereceiver.
 16. The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media ofclaim 15, wherein the code blocks are encoded usinglow-density-parity-check (LDPC) coding; and wherein the second set ofcommunication parameters includes a second modulation that is differentfrom the first modulation, wherein the first modulation and the secondmodulation are each one of QPSK, 8-PSK, 8+8 APSK, or 8+8+16 APSK. 17.The one or more non-transitory machine-readable media of claim 15,further comprising: determining, by the receiver and based on thedetermined number of corrupted code blocks, characteristics of aperiodic blockage of the communication channel between the transmitterand the receiver, the characteristics comprising (i) a blockage durationindicative of a duration of the blockage and (ii) a blockage intervalindicative of a period of time from a beginning of a blockage event to abeginning of a next blockage event, wherein the second set ofcommunication parameters is selected based on the determinedcharacteristics of the periodic blockage of the communication channelbetween the transmitter and the receiver.
 18. The one or morenon-transitory machine-readable media of claim 17, wherein: thetransmitter is a transmitter of a satellite, and wherein the receiver ismounted on a helicopter that is in flight, and the receiver is orientedto communicate with the transmitter along a path that is periodicallyblocked by a rotating rotor of the helicopter.
 19. The one or morenon-transitory machine-readable media of claim 15, wherein determiningthe second set of communication parameters comprises: determining, bythe receiver and based on the comparison, that the number of corruptedcode blocks is less than the number of parity blocks; and in response todetermining that the number of corrupted code blocks is less than thenumber of parity blocks, selecting, by the receiver, the second set ofcommunication parameters to include a second coding that provides ahigher code rate than the first coding.
 20. The one or morenon-transitory machine-readable media of claim 19, wherein selecting thesecond set of communication parameters comprises: determining, by thereceiver and based on the comparison, that the number of corrupted codeblocks is less than the number of parity blocks; determining, by thereceiver, that a set of codings available for communication between thetransmitter and receiver does not include a coding with a code rategreater than a code rate of the first coding of the first communicationparameters; and in response to determining (i) that the number ofcorrupted code blocks is less than the number of parity blocks and (ii)that the set of codings available for communication between thetransmitter and receiver does not include a coding with a code rategreater than a code rate of the first coding of the first communicationparameters, selecting, by the receiver, the second set of communicationparameters to include a second modulation that provides higherthroughput than the first modulation.